David P. Atkins is a member of Pullman & Comley’s Litigation Department and leads its Professional Liability Section. He practices in the areas of professional liability, commercial litigation, appeals and administrative proceedings. Attorneys, law firms, CPAs and health care professionals seek David to represent them in malpractice, licensing, court sanctions and disqualification proceedings, ethics and disciplinary (grievance) matters. His extensive experience includes handling disputes among owners of professional service practices including physicians and attorneys.  Firms and corporate legal departments frequently engage David for risk management consultations as well as an expert witness on legal ethics and professional liability issues.

He has served as a court appointed mediator in civil cases as part of the Special Masters Dispute Resolution Program of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.  David mediates disputes between co-owners of professional service practices as an alternative to litigation.  He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) and its section on mediating disputes involving health care professionals.  He also is a current board member of the national Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL) whose members include recognized leaders in the fields of attorney discipline and legal malpractice defense. 

A sought after writer and speaker, David has written and spoken widely on attorney discipline, legal ethics and law office risk management. He co-authored “Attorney Advertising in Connecticut: Everything You Need to Know about the New Era of Oversight and Regulation,” (Connecticut Lawyer); “Conflict Waivers: When in Doubt, Spell It Out,” (Connecticut Lawyer); “Responding To a Disciplinary Complaint: The Do’s and Don’ts,” (Connecticut Law Tribune); and “Advancing Client Costs: Pitfalls and Changes in Rule 1.8(e),” (Connecticut Law Tribune). He authored “The Duty To Report Client Misconduct and The Client Veto,” (Connecticut Law Tribune) and “Contacts With An Opposing Party’s Employees: When Is A Witness Off Limits?” (Connecticut Law Tribune).

Always willing to share his knowledge with others in the legal community, David is a regular speaker at programs sponsored by the Connecticut, Fairfield County, Greater Bridgeport, New Haven County and Westport Bar Associations and the Connecticut and Westchester County chapters of the American Corporate Counsel Association. He also has been an invited speaker on professional responsibility issues at the University of Connecticut School of Law; Yale Law School; and Quinnipiac University School of Law.