David Tafuri Featured in Washington Lawyer Magazine by the DC Bar Association

The profile traces David’s career advising governments, businesses, nonprofits, and democratic reform movements in regions experiencing significant political and legal change. A practice situated through work in jurisdictions facing political instability, conflict, and major governance challenges.

The magazine goes on to explain how his practice has involved providing advice to governments, multinational companies, nonprofits, and democratic reform movements across the globe. It discusses several successes his team has had in some of the most challenging environments imaginable for lawyers, such as Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. 

Washington Lawyer credits David and his colleagues with a very principled approach that has set them apart from other international groups at major law firms. 

The profile notes that what distinguishes David from many legal practitioners is not merely his international reach, but the ethical framework underpinning his work. He often has chosen to represent emerging democracies and democratic insurgencies, while also setting strict boundaries about not representing autocratic regimes and dictators, in particular the Russian Federation.

Throughout the interview, David emphasizes the importance of strong legal institutions in promoting stability, economic growth, and democratic governance. “In my experience, the most important determinant of whether a country will be stable, secure, and capable of meeting the aspirations of its people is whether it adheres to the rule of law,” says David. “We have to spread the rule of law across the world.”

The profile illustrates how that philosophy has shaped his career and continues to inform his work today, including ongoing efforts related to Ukraine, where he has advised organizations and businesses engaged in defense, relief, and investment initiatives, since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The piece also examines David’s longstanding commitment to advancing democratic governance and supporting clients operating in challenging markets, work that continues through his leadership at ArentFox Schiff.

The magazine further details how, throughout these engagements, David has maintained an ethical framework for operating at the highest levels of global commerce and diplomacy. He refuses to represent dictatorships, pro-Russian interests, or autocratic governments aligned against democratic systems. David views that limitation not as a sacrifice, but as essential to preserving credibility with democratic clients and reform movements.

Reflecting on the purpose that has guided his career, David said, “I didn’t become a lawyer just to have lots of clients and make lots of money. I became a lawyer because I wanted to have an impact on the world.”

The article concludes that in an era when many global advisers operate safely from a distance, David has built a career by moving toward instability, convinced that “the most consequential legal work often occurs precisely where institutions are weakest and the stakes are highest.”

Read David’s full feature in the Washington Lawyer here.