R. David Ware

David is admitted to practice in all Georgia state and federal courts along with the United States Supreme Court. During his multi-faceted, 40-year career, David has represented clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, cities and counties, as well as high-profile professional athletes and other high net worth individuals in complex litigation matters and multimillion-dollar negotiations and transactions. He has extensive executive management experience and has played an active and prominent role in numerous professional organizations, civic groups, and legal advisory panels. He also is an ordained minister.

Prior to Hall Booth Smith, David chose to work in public service for 11 years — 7 as the Fulton County Attorney, Georgia’s largest county. In that role, he led a team of 25 staff attorneys and managed numerous outside counsel who provided legal advice to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and 40 departments and agencies on a range of complex matters including labor and employment actions, catastrophic personal injury suits, wrongful death claims, government contract disputes, taxation controversies, zoning law interpretations, environmental issues, construction litigation, constitutional challenges, First Amendment questions, and Section 1983 cases. David’s most noteworthy achievements included defeating a 2014 suit of first impression brought by a group of state legislators to prevent the County from raising property taxes; he successfully convinced a Federal District Court to end nine years of federal oversight of the County jail and represented the County in the protracted series of cases arising from the 2005 Atlanta courthouse shootings that killed four people. But his greatest asset is his ability to try cases of all complexities. David’s trial skills have earned him numerous accolades.

David’s litigation work in private practice for corporate clients, insurers, municipalities, and counties has covered matters ranging from alleged employment discrimination under Title VII and the ADA to general business disputes and complex personal injury litigation, as well as issues facing cities and counties. He is a former Magistrate Court judge who sat by designation in Superior and State Court. David is particularly adept at helping clients resolve complex disputes and provides clients with advice to avoid protracted litigation, but he is also a skilled trial attorney who has tried numerous cases to verdict.

He is also widely known for his pioneering work as a sports attorney, where David has advised and represented professional athletes in negotiations that resulted in record-setting salaries and lucrative rights agreements for his clients. Notably, David became the first African American to represent a Heisman Trophy winner when then Oklahoma State running back and eventual NFL Hall of Fame player, Barry Sanders, hired him and he successfully challenged the National Football League’s prohibition against drafting college juniors. He has named Agent of the Year and has been featured in and interviewed by numerous national and local print and broadcast media outlets, including Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, The Sporting News, Jet Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, and Ebony, among others. Additionally, David has provided legal advice and counsel to entertainers and those involved in intellectual property endeavors, including serving as the legal advisor on the award winning movie, Sunday Morning Rapture.

David also has executive management experience: he was appointed to serve as the County Manager for Fulton County where he successfully balanced a billion dollar budget and saved the county $24 million.