David P. Burns is Of Counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.  He is a member of the Litigation Department, where he focuses on white-collar criminal matters, corporate investigations and complex commercial litigation.  Prior to joining the firm, from 2000 to 2005, Mr. Burns served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York.

Mr. Burns represents corporations and individuals in state and federal court, as well as before the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.  His practice includes matters involving fraud, insider trading, price fixing and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  He also has significant experience in conducting internal corporate investigations. 

As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Burns represented the Government in more than a dozen federal criminal jury trials, and argued numerous appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.  He investigated and prosecuted cases involving a wide array of offenses, including money laundering, embezzlement, material support of terrorism, large-scale visa and immigration fraud, violations of the Armed Export Control Act, obstruction of justice, witness tampering, RICO and murder.  Mr. Burns served as a member of the Organized Crime and Terrorism Unit, as well as the General Crimes and Narcotics Units.  In 2004, he received the Department of Justice's Director's Award for superior performance as an Assistant United States Attorney in connection with his work on the racketeering case against the entire leadership of the Decavalcante Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra.

During his tenure as an Assistant United States Attorney, Mr. Burns worked on a number of high profile cases, including the prosecution that resulted in the conviction in June 2005 of Cheng Chui Ping, a/k/a "Sister Ping", of alien smuggling, hostage taking and money laundering charges after a lengthy and highly-publicized jury trial in New York.  Sister Ping, known principally for her role in the Golden Venture smuggling operation in which 10 aliens drowned off the coast of Queens, New York, in 1993, was considered by law enforcement to be one of the most significant alien smugglers ever brought to trial. 

Prior to becoming a prosecutor, from 1995 until 2000, Mr. Burns was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Howrey Simon Arnold and White, LLP, where he worked on complex civil litigation and antitrust matters.

Mr. Burns graduated in 1995 from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Scholar and an Articles Editor of the Columbia Business Law Review.  He received his bachelor of arts degree in economics from Boston College in 1991.  Mr. Burns is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.