David Chizewer

Practice Areas

Litigation & Dispute Resolution;

Appellate;

Class Action Defense;

False Claims Act;

Government Investigations;

Shareholder Disputes

Career

David Chizewer chairs Goldberg Kohn's Litigation Group. He has achieved remarkable success for clients across industries, geography, and in all stages of litigation.

David is a nationally recognized trial lawyer who was named a Litigation Trailblazer by the National Law Journal in 2023 and has been featured in the National Law Journal’s list of 10 of the Nation’s Top Litigators. He has also been named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Public Justice Foundation and was separately a runner-up for that same award. In addition, he has been named Lawyer of the Year by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund (the Anti-Fraud Coalition), and has received the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service by the Federal Court in Chicago on two separate occasions.

David has a proven trial record, having served as co-lead trial counsel in two widely acclaimed cases: In United States of America ex rel. Cleveland A. Tyson, et al. v. Amerigroup Corporation, et al., he obtained then the largest verdict and judgment ($334 million) in the history of the federal False Claims Act as counsel for the plaintiffs; and In Memisovski, et al. v. Patla, he represented a class of 600,000 children on Medicaid in a federal case against the state of Illinois and obtained some of the most sweeping reforms ever to a state Medicaid program.

On the defense side, David has represented clients in bet-the-company litigation, including trying a case in a rural, plaintiff-friendly district where he obtained a remarkable result for his defendant client in the face of extreme jury bias. He has served as lead counsel to defendants in multi-district litigation and has argued before the Illinois Supreme Court and the federal Courts of Appeals for the First, Fourth, Seventh and Ninth Circuits.

David has also served as an expert witness on issues of federal civil procedure. He is a frequent author and speaker, and has presented at the National Advocacy Center, the Federal Judicial Center, and the law schools of Cornell and Berkeley.

David joined Goldberg Kohn as a summer associate in June 1990, and in September 1991, as a full-time lawyer. In addition to chairing the Litigation Group, he has been a Member of the firm's Compensation, Management, Professional Responsibility and Business Development committees, and the Associate Task Force.

In a civic capacity, David is at the forefront of the legal issues affecting the education reform movement. He is one of the founders and past Board President of the Chicago International Charter School, one of the nation's largest charter schools, and also founded the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. He was a member of the Education Policy Group for the Barack Obama U.S. Senate and Presidential Campaigns. In May 2005, he argued a seminal charter school case before the Illinois Supreme Court.

As a result of David's civic leadership, he was selected a Leadership Fellow for the 2003-2004 Leadership Greater Chicago Program. Past fellows include Michelle Obama, John W. Rogers, Jr. and Valerie Jarrett. In 2016, he received the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in conjunction with the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.

Professional Memberships

Taxpayers Against Fraud Coalition; Federal Bar Association QuiTam Section

Personal

Since December 1995, David has been married to Debbie Musiker Chizewer, who runs the Midwest Office of EarthJustice. Their son Andrew was a national leading debater for the Stanford debate team and is now a trader on Wall Street. Their son Jeremy graduated summa cum laude from Princeton with a degree in computer science and is now pursuing an advanced degree.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Illinois; United States Supreme Court; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois; U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado; U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin; U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; U.S. Court of Federal Claims

Work Highlights

- Co-counsel for a lawsuit brought against KBR over fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer funds in Iraq. The $108.75 million settlement is the largest recovery to date related to the Iraq War.

- Co-counsel for a qui-tam suit brought against Watermark Retirement Communities, Inc. alleging illegal kickbacks for a quid pro quo referral arrangement between Watermark and BAYADA. Watermark agreed to pay $4.25 million to settle the lawsuit.

- Co-lead trial counsel for Plaintiffs, and obtained the largest verdict and judgment in the history of the federal False Claim Act ($334 million), in United States of America ex. rel. Cleveland A. Tyson, et al. v. Amerigroup Corporation, et al., a case involving illegal discrimination against Medicaid participants because of pre-existing conditions.

-Co-lead trial counsel for a class of 600,000 children on Medicaid against the State of Illinois in the case captioned, Memisovski, et al. v. Patla, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, obtaining a judgment that secured some of the most sweeping reforms ever to a state Medicaid program.

Education

Awards