In a career spanning more than 40 years, David Barrett has handled cases in virtually every area of complex high-stakes litigation, consistently achieving outstanding results for clients. He is a leader in the firm’s appellate practice and a trusted counselor and advisor, with experience in matters ranging from commercial, securities, antitrust, and IP to class actions, arbitration, and mediation. He has argued and briefed dozens of appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal Courts of Appeals and New York state courts.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2026 | Commercial, Antitrust & Securities Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2025 | Commercial, Antitrust & Securities Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2024 | Commercial, Antitrust & Securities Litigation |
| The 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2023 | Commercial, Antitrust & Securities Litigation |
| The 2022 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2022 | Commercial, Antitrust & Securities Litigation |
| The 2021 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2021 | Commercial, Antitrust & Securities Litigation |
| The 2020 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers | 2020 | |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyers | 2019 | Securities Litigation |
Recently, following a multiweek bench trial in federal court, Barrett with a BSF team won dismissal of unfair competition claims seeking $250 million in damages (with potential for trebling) brought against Uber by Boston taxi medallion owners. Barrett is lead counsel defending the judgment on appeal.
Barrett won reversal in the Second Circuit of summary judgment dismissing a $150 million action to compel Morgan Stanley to buy back a defaulted loan it had included in a commercial mortgage-backed securities pool. On remand, David settled the case just prior to trial with a substantial recovery for BSF’s client.
Barrett authored a Supreme Court amicus brief that supported the successful petitioner in a case which established the Sixth Amendment right of a criminal defendant to a hearing on plausible claims that jury deliberations were infected with racial bias. An appendix to the court’s opinion included extensive data submitted in the amicus brief. Litigation, the journal of the ABA litigation section, recently published a feature article that Barrett co-authored analyzing lower court responses to the decision.