Dave is a mid-life career change lawyer who spent two-and-a-half decades in the newspaper profession before taking up the practice of law.

He graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in journalism and political science, and commenced on what turned into a 26-year journalism career that included stints at the Tacoma News-Tribune, the Newport, OR News-Times and The Daily News of Longview. At The Daily News, he was part of the staff that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption. He also was one of the writers of Volcano! The Eruption of Mount St. Helens, an illustrated trade paperback book was published by Longview Publishing Co. and made the New York Times bestseller list.

After deciding to pursue a career change, he was admitted to the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, graduating with a juris doctor degree in 1993. He opened his law practice in 2000. Early on, he decided to focus his practice in the field of elder law because he could see the demand for practitioners in this area of concentration was growing.

One aspect of his career has given him a special insight into issues of capacity and mental illness. From 2005 to 2018, he was the contracted public defender in involuntary mental commitment hearings at St. John Medical Center. Working closely with his clients, who were detained on the psychiatric floor of St. John’s, gave him an up-close-and-personal view of the issues facing those with impaired capacity, including those with Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia.

Dave has been active in the community, serving on the boards of directors of the Longview Rotary Club, Jerry Chapman Ministries, Community Home Health and Hospice, Cowlitz County Guidance Association (now Columbia Wellness), the Arc of Cowlitz Valley and Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Legal Aid Program.

He is married and has two grown daughters and a teen-aged grandson.

For six months of the year, his mood directly correlates with the fortunes of the Seattle Mariners.