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David Franklin

Massey & Gail LLP
50 East Washington Street
Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60602
Office: 312.283.1590
Fax: 312.379.0467
 
David Franklin
Of Counsel

David Franklin focuses on appellate and constitutional issues in complex litigation.

He served as Illinois Solicitor General from 2016 to 2019, where he led a team of more than 40 appellate lawyers representing the State of Illinois in civil and criminal appeals. He has briefed and argued cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the Illinois Supreme Court. His merits brief in Janus v. AFSCME received the National Association of Attorneys General’s Best Brief Award in 2018.

Earlier in his career, David served as a law clerk to Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court, and Hon. Stephen F. Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

David is a professor at DePaul University College of Law, where he teaches constitutional law, administrative law, and conflict of laws. His scholarship has appeared in leading journals, including the Yale Law Journal, Iowa Law Review, and Cardozo Law Review. He graduated from The University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Managing Editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.

He also advises on select matters involving complex appellate and constitutional questions.

  • Represented the State of Illinois in Janus v. AFSCME before the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Represented the State of Illinois as co-lead amicus (with New York) in Trump v. Hawaii before the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Represented the State of Illinois and 34 states as amici in Tennessee Wine & Spirits v. Blair before the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Represented members of the Illinois State Board of Elections in an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
  • Represented the State of Illinois in an appeal before the Illinois Supreme Court.

  • The University of Chicago Law School, J.D., with high honors, Order of the Coif (1997)
  • Yale University, B.A., summa cum laude (1990)

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court
  • Stephen F. Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

  • S. Supreme Court
  • S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  • S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • Illinois
  • New York

Books

  • Conflict of Laws, Cases—Comments—Questions (10th ed. 2018) (with Larry Kramer & Kermit Roosevelt)

Law Review Articles

  • Legislative Rules, Nonlegislative Rules, and the Perils of the Short Cut, 120 Yale L.J. 276 (2010)
  • Justice Ginsburg’s Common Law Federalism, 43 New Eng. L. Rev. 751 (2010)
  • Looking Through Both Ends of the Telescope: Facial Challenges and the Roberts Court, 36 Hastings Const. L.Q. 689 (2009)
  • Facial Challenges, Legislative Purpose, and the Commerce Clause, 92 Iowa L. Rev. 41 (2006)
  • Two Cheers for Procedural Review of Guidance Documents, 90 Tex. L. Rev. See Also 111 (2012)

Commentary

  • “Origin Story,” Slate (June 29, 2015)
  • “Why Did Roberts Do It?,” Slate (June 28, 2012)

  • Board Member, Chicago Lawyer Chapter, American Constitution Society