Practice areas: Employment Litigation
Licensed in New York since: 2006
Education: University of Miami School of Law
Wigdor LLP
85 Fifth AvenueFL 5
New York, NY 10003 Phone: 212-257-6800 Email: David E. Gottlieb Visit website
David E. Gottlieb is a Partner at Wigdor LLP. David is a zealous advocate for employees who have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, retaliation and other forms of unlawful workplace misconduct. He also represents all victims of sexual misconduct and abuse whether that conduct arises in the workplace, educational or medical settings, or otherwise.
A substantial volume of David’s work involves various forms of gender discrimination, including sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, equal pay violations and matters in which women are excluded from and have careers stalled due to “boys clubs” in the workplace. David has represented thousands of plaintiffs in individual, multi-plaintiff, collective and class action litigation before a wide array of federal and state trial and appellate courts, administrative agencies and arbitral forums. David has represented clients from almost every industry including financial services, hospitality, tech, retail, advertising, manufacturing, medicine and hospitals, transportation, fashion, education, government, communications, architecture, sports and media.
David represented clients in numerous highly publicized employment discrimination matters. He represented five on-air female journalists alleging age and gender discrimination at NY1 in the matter of Torre et al. v. Charter Communications, Inc. et al., No. 19 Civ. 05708, which is widely credited with shining a spotlight on the egregious discrimination women face in the world of TV media. David is one of the lead attorneys in Flores et al. v. National Football League, et al., No. 22 Civ. 00871, the class action filed against the NFL alleging systemic discrimination in the hiring, retention and treatment of head coaches and other executives. David represented a senior in-house lawyer at Goldman Sachs who was terminated for raising complaints about sexual misconduct and a cover-up that went all the way to the bank’s then-General Counsel in the matter of Crawford v. Goldman Sachs, Inc., No. 159731/2020. David also represented numerous loss prevention officers in a series of single, multi-plaintiff and class action cases alleging race discrimination at CVS, a matter which receiving national media attention and shed light on the practice of racial profiling in retail settings in Lamarr-Arruz v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., No. 15 Civ. 04261 (S.D.N.Y.).
PUBLICITY
David and his cases have been featured on CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNBC, Cheddar TV, National Public Radio, 1010 WINS, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Yahoo News, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune Magazine, Fast Company, Bloomberg, Reuters, Business Insider, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, HuffPost, New York Law Journal, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Business Journal, Newsweek, Gothamist, Institutional Investor, Business Insurance, MarketWatch, Law360, Adweek, Above the Law, Vox, People Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, TMZ and many others.
AWARDS
David has been selected to the New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Super Lawyers list since 2014.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
David has engaged in pro bono representation of Jewish college students subjected to antisemitism and discrimination following the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel. David stands by and with all victims of antisemitism.
David has acted as the pro bono general legal counsel for a New York City-based LGBTQ advocacy organization.
David previously worked for The Innocence Project, an organization devoted to exonerating wrongfully convicted inmates. Among his accomplishments, he helped a death row inmate receive an eleventh-hour stay of execution and ultimately, clemency, because of exculpatory DNA evidence in Williams v. Carter, No. 03-cv-1067 (S.D. Ind. 2003).
ADMISSIONS
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- New York
First Admitted: 2006
Professional Webpage: https://www.wigdorlaw.com/portfolio/david-e-gottlieb/
Bar / Professional Activity
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York , 2009
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2008
- New York City Bar Association
- New York, 2006
- U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, 2012
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Represented a class of limousine drivers who alleged misclassification as independent contractors, unlawful tip retention and numerous other wage violations, which was resolved for $3,500,000.
- Represented a class of servers and bartenders in a class action sexual harassment and wage-and-hour dispute, which settled for an aggregate total of $1,800,000.
- Represented a class of service employees at the de Seversky Mansion at the New York Institute of Technology alleging unlawful tip retention, which was resolved for $1,625,000.
- Represented a woman who was sexually assaulted by her supervisor leading to her constructive discharge, which resulted in a judgment of approximately $2,000,000.
- Represented a collective of employees against one of the largest architectural firms in the world, alleging an array of unlawful wage practices, resulting in payment in excess of $1,500,000.
Representative Clients
- Lead counsel in a class action against Real Housewife-owned restaurant Angelo’s of Mulberry Street.
- Lead counsel in class action against New York City landmark P.J. Clarke’s alleging violations of wage and hour laws.
- Lead counsel in a class action against the De Seversky Mansion at the New York Institute of Technology, alleging improper collection of tips.
- Lead counsel in a class action against New York City hotspot 230 Fifth alleging numerous wage and hour violations.
- Lead counsel in a class action alleging federal and state wage and hour violations on behalf of service employees at iconic Theatre-district restaurant Café Un Deux Troix.
- Lead counsel in a class action alleging federal and state wage and hour violations against Michelin-starred chef David Bouley and his signature restaurant, Bouley.
- Lead counsel in a class action alleging wage and hour violations on behalf of the service staff at upscale Chinese restaurant Phillippe.
- Lead counsel in a class action alleging wage and hour violations against New York City nightclub Lavo.
- Lead counsel in a class action alleging wage and hour violations against renowned restaurant Tao.
- Represented numerous taxi and limousine drivers in both class action and individual wage and hour actions.
- Lead counsel in a consumer fraud class action on behalf of current and former gym members against Town Sports International (TSI), the parent company of New York Sports Clubs, Boston Sports Clubs, Washington Sports Clubs and Philadelphia Sports Clubs, alleging that TSI engages in unlawful and deceptive practices by continuing to charge membership dues even after members give notice of cancellation., 2018
- Lead counsel in a class action on behalf of home loan officers in a lawsuit alleging wage and hour violations against one of the largest banks in the world.
- Represented multiple employees in pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuits against Tribeca-based architecture firm Despont Studios., 2018
- Lead counsel in a class action alleging federal and state wage and hour violations against Domino’s Pizza franchises across New York and Connecticut., 2018
- Represented an executive of a New York manufacturing company in a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and retaliation against the company’s President and CEO.
- Represented multiple former employees of a New York medical facility alleging sexual harassment, disability discrimination and retaliation.
- Represented domestic workers for high-worth families alleging discrimination and retaliation.
- Represented a former editor in a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination against major media publication.
- Represented transgender woman in sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims against one of the country’s largest retailers.
- Represented several employees with claims against major coffee retailer, ranging from disability discrimination to sexual harassment and retaliation.
- Represented numerous executive assistants to male financial professionals alleging a wide range of sexual misconduct and harassment, followed by retaliation.
- Represented numerous store detectives in a class action lawsuit against pharmacy giant CVS alleging that they were directed to engage in racial profiling and discrimination against customers in New York.
- Represented victim of sexual assault by well-known journalist.
- Represented numerous female executives, managing directors, directors, vice presidents and analysts at numerous banks throughout the world with claims of sexual harassment, hostile work environment, glass-ceilings, failure-to-promote and unlawful termination.
- Representation of five plaintiffs in connection with high‐profile gender discrimination and disparate impact matter against major worldwide financial services firm.
- Represented female sexual assault and harassment victim at large food manufacturer who was terminated following her complaints of misconduct.
- Represented female sexual harassment victim at large international media publication.
- Represented female sexual assault and harassment victim at large retailer which resulted in a judgment in her favor.
Pro bono / Community Service
- David has acted as the pro bono general legal counsel for a New York City-based LGBTQ advocacy organization., 2023
- Mr. Gottlieb previously worked for The Innocence Project, a nationally recognized organization devoted to the exoneration of wrongfully convicted inmates. Among other accomplishments, Mr. Gottlieb was involved in the matter of Williams v. Carter, No. 03-cv-1067 (S.D. Ind. 2003), wherein a death row inmate received an eleventh-hour stay of execution and ultimately clemency on account of exculpatory DNA evidence.
- Mr. Gottlieb has acted as the pro bono general legal counsel for a prominent New York City-based LGBTQ advocacy organization., 2018
Educational Background
- University of Arizona, B.A.,Double Major in Political Science and Philosophy, 2002, 2002
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- President Donald Trump has publicly advocated for NFL owners to fire players who refuse to stand for the national anthem at football games. This raises the question: Would it be unlawful to fire an employee for refusing to do so, if the basis were to protest perceived societal racial injustice?, Expert Analysis, Did Trump Ask the NFL to Break the Law?, Law360, Employment, Legal Industry, 2017
- To provide even further confidentiality protection, sometimes a settling party will ask that the complainant’s counsel be bound to a confidentiality agreement as well. This raises an important issue: Under the ethical rules, can a claimant’s counsel agree to hold information regarding a publicly filed litigation as confidential?, Expert Analysis, Confidentiality Agreements Cannot Restrict a Lawyer’s Right to Practice, New York Law Journal, Legal Industry, Employment, 2018
Honors
- In 2021, Law360 named David a Titan of the Plaintiff’s Bar, awarded to only 11 lawyers nationally. , Titan of the Plaintiff Bar, Law 360, 2021
- David is recognized by Chambers USA Labor & Employment: Mainly Plaintiffs from since 2021., Labor & Employment: Mainly Plaintiffs, Chambers USA, 2023
- David is a leading labor and employment litigation attorney by Best Lawyers., Best Lawyer, Best Lawyers, 2023
- David is New York Metro Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Super Lawyers since 2014. , Super Lawyer and Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2023
- Since 2019, David has been named to the Lawdragon Leading Employment Lawyers List., Leading Employment Lawyers List, Lawdragon, 2023
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2020 - 2025
- Rising Stars: 2014 - 2019