Dave Schooler is a proven high-stakes trial attorney who has tried over 150 jury and bench trials across a wide variety of substantive legal areas. He has been nationally recognized by the bench and bar in numerous peer-elected elite trial organizations based on his skills, experience, and ethics, including ABOTA, IADC, and FDCC. He is a national and state board-certified civil trial specialist. Dave is regularly listed by Benchmark as one of 30 leading employment lawyers in Minnesota. He has been an AV top-rated attorney by Martindale Hubbell since 2002.
- Trial experience with cases to jury verdict in employment, non-compete/trade secret, professional liability claims, product liability, intellectual property, shareholder disputes, fraud, fiduciary duty, breach of contract, tortuous interference, transportation, and property damage claims
- Lead counsel for many Federal and State wage and hour class action disputes
- Successfully resolved more than 100 employment lawsuits involving discrimination, reasonable accommodation, retaliation, harassment and wrongful termination
- Successfully obtained numerous preliminary injunctions and verdicts for clients in non-compete, trade secret, and duty of loyalty cases
- Serves as litigation counsel for a Fortune 500 bank for employment litigation and investigations
- Serves as litigation counsel for a Fortune 500 bank for banking litigation
- Serves as litigation counsel for a Fortune 500 mining company in the defense of more than 100 mass tort lawsuits
- Author, The Eight Defenses to Retaliation Claims, Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May 2019
- Author, Employment Law for the Mid-Market Employer Staying “In The Know” on Employment Trends in 2016, August 2016
- Speaker, Social Media and Data Privacy Policies and Pitfalls, Lloyd’s of London Professional Liability Summit, May 2017
Admissions
- Minnesota
- North Dakota
- U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois
- U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota
- U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin
Memberships
- The Academy of Certified Trial Lawyers of Minnesota
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
- International Association of Defense Counsel, Elected Member
- Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, Elected Member
- State Bar of Minnesota, Member
- Hennepin County Bar Association, Member
- Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
- Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association (MDLA)
- American Bar Association
- Federal Bar Association, Member Defense Research Institute (DRI)
Education
- J.D., cum laude, William Mitchell College of Law, 1992
- B.A., St. Olaf College, 1987
Honors
- Best Lawyers in America® distinction in Commercial Litigation (2025)
- Benchmark Litigation, Labor & Employment Star – Midwest
- Named one of “America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators”
- American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Fellow
- AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell
- Super Lawyer, Minnesota Super Lawyers