David J. Altschuler
David specializes in insurance coverage counseling and
litigation, complex litigation, professional liability defense, and
construction litigation. His insurance coverage practice has
included representation of insurers in claims under design
professionals' professional liability policies and OCIPs,
commercial general liability policies, commercial trucking
policies, employment practices liability policies, aviation
insurance policies, long term disability policies, commercial
property insurance, and miscellaneous professional liability
policies involving claims against insurance brokers, accountants,
and structured settlement companies. He has represented an
industry-leading professional liability insurer in many claims
against architects, engineers, and construction managers involving
some of the largest construction projects in the country and
internationally, including power plant projects, rail lines
projects, water treatment facilities, highway construction
projects, university expansion and renovation projects, stadium
projects, museums, and privately-funded construction
projects. He has filed and defended declaratory judgment
actions and defended clients against claims of bad faith and unfair
claims handling practices. He has experience counseling
clients in the development of new insurance products and drafting
policy forms, exclusions and endorsements. He has also
monitored and coordinated the defense and resolution of numerous
claims.
David's litigation practice has included the defense of
professionals, including architects, real estate agents, real
estate appraisers, security contractors, property managers, and
insurance brokers, representation of directors and officers of
not-for-profit corporations, defense of premises liability
lawsuits, defense of class action lawsuits seeking statutory
damages pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the
Telephone Communication Protection Act, and the defense of
construction defect lawsuits. He has also defended claims and
lawsuits against airlines seeking recovery for injuries sustained
onboard flights, handled commercial disputes between airline
industry entities, and assisted with the defense of product
liability claims against manufacturers of avionics.
While in law school, David was a summer clerk for the Honorable
Theodore McMillian of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Eighth Circuit. Prior to attending law school, he was a
researcher and literary editor's assistant for the Wilson
Quarterly, a publication of the Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars in Washington, DC. While there, he participated
in writing a "Background Books" feature about important authors to
accompany an article about the increasing modernity of India's
cities. In addition, David was a summer intern for Mark
Olshaker, an Emmy-award winning documentary film writer and
producer and the author of the New York Times bestseller
Mindhunter.
In 2014, David was appointed to serve on the Chicago Bar
Association's Judicial Evaluation Committee, where he helped
provide the public with the information necessary to make an
informed decision at the polls.