The Supreme Court Today: What Roles Do Norms Play?

David Codell is a constitutional, entertainment, and intellectual property litigator in Los Angeles. David has represented major clients in the motion picture, television, recording, and advertising industries in disputes concerning the First Amendment, copyright, trademark, the internet, talent contracts, profit participation, and employment issues.

David also has extensive experience as a civil rights litigator. He has handled numerous cases that have resulted in historic rulings advancing the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ community in California and around the country. David previously served as Constitutional Litigation Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In that role, he collaborated in successfully litigating cases seeking marriage equality for same-sex couples in Utah, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, and Tennessee. The Tennessee case was one of four consolidated cases in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that same-sex couples throughout the nation have a constitutional right to marry. David also previously served as Interim Legal Director and Senior Scholar of Law at the Williams Institute, a leading think tank at the UCLA School of Law that focuses on sexual orientation and gender identity law and policy.

David received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Harvard College and his J.D. degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was a Supreme Court Editor of the Harvard Law Review. David served as a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the U.S. Supreme Court and then practiced constitutional litigation with Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe in Cambridge, Massachusetts. David has practiced law in Los Angeles for twenty-four years. He was formerly a partner at Irell & Manella LLP and then operated his own law office for many years. He is now a partner at One LLP, an intellectual property and entertainment law firm in Southern California.

David is a frequent speaker about constitutional issues and has been interviewed on numerous national news outlets about the U.S. Constitution and the Supreme Court

This presentation is approved for 1.0 hour of general credit towards the required MCLE for the State Bar of California. SGVBA is a Multiple Activity Provider.