Our Attorneys

Contact Dave
  • Miner, Barnhill & Galland, P.C.
    325 N. LaSalle St. Suite 350
    Chicago, IL 60654
  • (312) 751-1170

Education

  • Northwestern University, J.D. (2009) – Honors: Magna cum laude; Order of the Coif; Editor-in-Chief, Northwestern University Law Review; senior research honors
  • Northwestern University, B.A. (2004)

David Baltmanis joined Miner, Barnhill & Galland in 2011 following judicial clerkships with a federal appellate judge and a federal district judge. He maintains a diverse practice primarily representing individuals and institutional plaintiffs in the areas of complex commercial litigation, class actions, environmental law, employment law, and civil rights. He has also served as defense counsel for non-profit and healthcare organizations in commercial and employment matters.   He also advises non-profits and small businesses on contractual matters, discrimination law, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. He has extensive experience in state and federal trial courts across the country, and has authored and co-authored merits and amicus briefs in state supreme courts, United States Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Dave believes that diligent legal representation is often the difference between just and unjust outcomes, and strives to make that difference for his clients at MBG, large and small. He is proud to have served as part of litigation teams on behalf of state governments that have recouped hundreds of millions of dollars from pharmaceutical manufacturers, and to have worked on class actions on behalf of thousands of alleged victims of corporate pollution. He is equally grateful for the opportunity to represent individuals suffering adverse treatment in employment, and to help secure settlements for families wrongfully denied healthcare benefits for mental health treatment. Dave is happy to be part of a versatile, creative team at MBG that can tackle any sort of case with the same degree of intellectual rigor, thoroughness and professionalism.

  • Environmental Litigation

    Dave has extensive experience in environmental law and is an integral member of the firm’s Environmental Litigation practice. His environmental practice focuses on protecting people and their property from corporate polluters. Dave was part of a team of MBG lawyers that successfully represented a class of over 10,000 residents bringing nuisance, negligence, and trespass claims against a corn wet mill, ultimately resulting in a $51.5 million settlement for the class.  Dave has also worked on actions brought by the Sierra Club under the Clean Air Act against one of the nation’s largest utilities.

    Dave currently represents residents of 22 communities in a nuisance and negligence class action against one of the nation’s largest steel manufacturers.

    Learn more about Hernandez v. US Steel.

  • Employment Law, Discrimination and Civil Rights

    Dave has worked on a variety of employment litigation matters primarily on behalf of plaintiffs, as well as defendants in the healthcare and not-for-profit sectors. His work has focused on employment discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, pregnancy, and sexual orientation; employee compensation; severance disputes and non-compete agreements. He has helped favorably settle cases on behalf of several families seeking benefits under ERISA and the Mental Health Parity Act. Additionally, Dave has represented individuals in litigation against municipal governments and government officials for violations of their constitutional rights.

    Dave also has considerable experience in non-litigation contexts. He has advised employers and labor organizations regarding employee personnel policies, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and non-discrimination obligations.  He has also assisted non-profit and for-profit organizations with navigating and resolving contractual disputes in a host of contexts ranging from attorney-client matters to condominium law to higher education.

  • False Claims Act, Government Representation
    and Whistleblower Litigation

    Dave has served as a Special Assistant Attorney General for a number of state governments suing dozens of pharmaceutical manufacturers for pricing practices that allegedly violate state false claims, Medicaid fraud and consumer protection laws. Dave has worked as part of the firm’s team at all phases of litigation, from discovery through appeal. Collectively, the firm’s efforts have secured jury verdicts and settlements for the firm’s clients totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Dave has also worked on behalf of individual whistleblowers reporting fraud on the government.

Community Service Activities

Dave is a member of the Board of Governors of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, Chicago’s public interest bar association, and currently serves as its President. He has worked on systemic reform efforts in the area of criminal justice as a part of its Criminal Justice Advisory Committee.

Since 2011, Dave has been a member of the Justice Council of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law’s Bluhm Legal Clinic.

Dave has also performed pro bono work drafting amicus briefs on behalf of current and former United Nations officials in cases concerning federal civil rights and international law.


Bar Admissions

Illinois Supreme Court (2009)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2010)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (2011)

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (2010)

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2011)

U.S. Supreme Court (2013)


Publications

  • James E. Pfander and David Baltmanis, “Rethinking Bivens: Legitimacy and Constitutional Adjudication,” 98 Georgetown Law Journal 117 (2009)
  • James E. Pfander and David Baltmanis, “W(h)ither Bivens?” 161 University of Pennsylvania Law Review Online 231 (2013)


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