David Chao is a Special Counsel in the Firm's Los Angeles office and a member of its Litigation and White Collar and Investigations practice groups. A former federal prosecutor, Mr. Chao represents corporations and executives in high stakes matters, including white collar criminal defense, complex business disputes, and internal investigations.  An accomplished trial and appellate lawyer with more than 15 years of experience, Mr. Chao has tried numerous jury trials and briefed and argued multiple state and federal appeals, including before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Prior to joining Buchalter, Mr. Chao served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.  During his tenure, Mr. Chao was a member of the Major Frauds Section, where he prosecuted a series of high-profile white-collar cases, including a three-month jury trial involving more than $120 million in healthcare fraud claims, as well as the 1inMM Capital Ponzi scheme, which involved over $690 million and remains the largest Ponzi scheme in Hollywood history.  As the Procurement Fraud Coordinator for many years, Mr. Chao gained extensive experience with government contract matters involving debarment, bid rigging, product substitution, mischarging, conflicts of interest, kickbacks, and violations of the Trade Agreement Act.  Mr. Chao also served as Deputy Chief in the General Crimes Section, where he trained prosecutors and supervised multiple jury trials.

Mr. Chao is a graduate from Yale Law School and Harvard College.  Before entering private practice, Mr. Chao served as a law clerk for the Honorable Richard A. Paez and the Honorable Dorothy W. Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as well as the Honorable Stephen V. Wilson of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Education

• Yale Law School, J.D.
• Harvard University, A.B., Government, magna cum laude

• Southern California Rising Star, Los Angeles Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine, 2015-2016
• Pro Bono Advocate of the Year, Bet Tzedek, 2016
• Pro Bono Award, Public Counsel Appellate Law Program, 2015