David C. Codell

Attorney David Codell David Codell is an attorney in Los Angeles whose law practice focuses on trial-court and appellate constitutional litigation, business litigation, and entertainment litigation.

Mr. Codell also has significant experience in class action and securities litigation, as well as extensive experience in appellate litigation, having handled a wide variety of appellate matters involving constitutional issues, business disputes, employment law, land use, securities law, and arbitration.

Mr. Codell received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Harvard College, and his J.D. degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was a Supreme Court Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Mr. Codell served as a law clerk for Judge David Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and as a law clerk for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Codell then practiced constitutional law in association with Harvard University Professor Laurence H. Tribe in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was a partner at Irell & Manella LLP in Los Angeles, where he practiced in the litigation, intellectual property, and appellate practice groups. In 2003, Mr. Codell opened his own law office in Los Angeles, the Law Office of David C. Codell.

In 2013, while continuing his private law practice, Mr. Codell served as Visiting Legal Director and Senior Scholar of Law at the Williams Institute, a research institute at UCLA School of Law that focuses on sexual orientation and gender identity law and policy. In 2014, Mr. Codell became Constitutional Litigation Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), litigating cases seeking marriage equality for same-sex couples in Utah, Alabama, Florida, Idaho, and Tennessee. In the Tennessee case, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that same-sex couples throughout the nation have a constitutional right to marry.

Mr. Codell has provided pro bono representation to individuals and organizations in numerous cases that have resulted in historic rulings advancing civil rights, and he has been honored for his pro bono work by numerous organizations. Mr. Codell also is a frequent speaker about legal issues at universities and continuing legal education events.


AWARDS AND HONORS

  • Southern California Super Lawyer for nineteen consecutive years (2006-2024)
  • Liberty Award, presented by Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Lawyer of the Year, presented by the Orange County Equality Coalition
  • Equality Advocate Award, presented by Equality California
  • LGBT Advocacy Award, presented by the ACLU of Southern California
  • Defender of Democracy Award, presented by People for the American Way
  • Humanitarian Award, presented by Los Angeles synagogue Beth Chayim Chadashim


VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES 

  • Former Board Member, Equality California
  • Pro bono litigation for and/or with numerous civil rights organizations, including:
    • Equality California
    • ACLU Foundation of Southern California
    • ACLU Foundation of Northern California
    • National Center for Lesbian Rights
    • Lambda Legal
    • National Women’s Law Center
    • California Women’s Law Center
    • People for the American Way