Our Legal Team
Dave Garrison practices complex civil litigation, representing employees, consumers, and shareholders in class and collective actions throughout the country. In addition, he handles labor and employment law matters for employees, labor unions, and small businesses.
Dave has extensive experience in wage and hour litigation. Currently, he represents workers around the country in collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Those cases involve claims by employees who have been improperly denied overtime, forced to work off-the-clock, or have been improperly designated as "exempt" from overtime laws by their employer. Recently, in January 2010, Dave tried, on behalf of workers in a poultry processing plant, a significant collective action case under the FLSA in the Eastern District of Tennessee. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the workers, finding that the employer’s practices were in violation of the FLSA and that its violations were willful.
In addition to his complex litigation practice, Dave maintains an active labor and employment law practice. He serves as counsel to labor unions in arbitration, before the National Labor Relations Board, and in state and federal court. He also represents individuals and small businesses in employment disputes involving discrimination claims, breach of employment contracts, prevailing wage litigation, and wrongful termination.
Dave is also active in Democratic politics. Currently, he serves as Treasurer of the Tennessee Democratic Party. In 2008, Dave was elected to serve as a Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention supporting then-Senator Barack Obama. Prior to practicing law, Dave served as Project Coordinator at The Brookings Institution for President Bill Clinton's National Economic Advisor, Gene Sperling. In 2000, he served as Assistant Policy Coordinator for the Gore-Lieberman presidential campaign, where he worked with Vice President Gore's senior policy advisors in the development and communication of the campaign's policy agenda.
Dave received his Bachelor of Arts degree from DePauw University, and received his Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University School of Law, where he served in the Moot Court Honor Society. During his third year of law school, he attended Vanderbilt Law School. Dave is a member of the American, Tennessee, and Nashville Bar Associations, the American and Tennessee Associations for Justice, and the National Employment Lawyers Association. He served as an associate member of the Harry Phillips Chapter of the American Inn of Court and is currently a member of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee. From 2001 – 2004, Dave served on the DePauw University Board of Trustees. He resides with his wife and fellow bar member, Erica, in the Sylvan Park neighborhood of Nashville.