David W. Moreshead (he/him/his) is a litigation associate in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Mr. Moreshead’s practice focuses primarily on labor and employment litigation and counseling. Mr. Moreshead has litigated numerous class and representative wage and hour matters as well as a wide variety of single plaintiff wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment claims. He has successfully written and argued motions, managed all aspects of discovery, and has represented clients in the California Court of Appeal, California Supreme Court, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In addition to his litigation work, Mr. Moreshead frequently conducts internal investigations and counsels clients on all aspects of employment law, including compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, drafting employee handbooks, and drafting and implementing compliant company policies. He has experience defending employers in numerous industries, including the retail, construction, and financial services sectors.
Mr. Moreshead also maintains a vibrant pro bono practice. Along with advising small businesses in the arts and entertainment industry regarding workplace policies and unemployment disputes, Mr. Moreshead has worked alongside the ACLU to challenge the transfer of criminal detainees into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the ACLU awarded Mr. Moreshead the Humanitarian Award for his work.
In addition, Mr. Moreshead is the social chair of the firm’s LGBTQ+ Initiative, and is heavily involved in the firm’s diversity, recruiting, and development and retention efforts. Mr. Moreshead along with a small group of attorneys spearheaded the firm’s Gender Inclusive Pronouns initiative which encourages attorneys and professional colleagues to add self-identified pronouns—such as “she/her/hers”—whenever they provide identifying information. He also remains active at his alma mater, Pepperdine University School of Law, where he has spoken on numerous panels and coached moot court teams at competitions throughout the country.
Before joining the firm, Mr. Moreshead clerked for Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Beverly Reid O’Connell of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Prior to his clerkships, he held a one-year fellowship at an appellate litigation boutique in Los Angeles.
Mr. Moreshead earned his J.D., summa cum laude, Order of the Coif and Order of the Barristers from the Pepperdine University School of Law. While in law school, he served as lead articles editor of the Pepperdine Law Review. He graduated with a B.A. in finance and arts management and a B.F.A. in acting, summa cum laude, from Lindenwood University.
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