David Ebert
David Ebert is a co-founder of the Animal Defense Partnership, a nonprofit that provides legal services free to animal protection nonprofits (www.animaldefensepartnership.org). David, a former lawyer, co-founded ADP with Joel Litvin in 2016 as a means to devote himself more fully to protecting animals and reducing suffering. ADP now represents 130+ clients working in the US, Africa, Nepal, the United Kingdom and Canada.
David is particularly interested in working to free elephants languishing in captivity in zoos and parks across the US. He continues to collaborate with other advocates and organizations in the effort to rescue individual elephants and have them placed in accredited sanctuaries.
David is a member of Pro Elephant Network, which is a global community of diverse individuals and organizations that provides a strong framework of cooperation and networking to reverse and cease harmful practices towards Elephants. He is also a member of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary’s Rancher Advisory Coalition, which is devoted to helping families transition away from animal agriculture and the practices associated with factory and family farms. He is on the Board of Advisors for TerraMar Research, a nonprofit with a proven commitment to the study and protection of wildlife and the environment with an emphasis on marine mammals and marine ecosystems. And he serves on the Advisory Board of FACE (Free All Captive Elephants), which is dedicated to rescuing captive elephants in North America.
Before retiring in October 2019, David trained at the former Shea & Gould law firm and then practiced as a partner at the Ingram firm in New York City, having started with the firm at its inception in 1989. He litigated complex commercial matters and regularly tried cases in state and federal court in New York and around the country. He also served as outside general counsel to several small and midsize companies.
David received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from NYU. He was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. David held an AV-Preeminent rating, the highest possible peer review rating by the publishers of the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, for legal ability and ethical standards based on the confidential opinions of the Bar and the Judiciary. He also maintained a 9.6/10 rating on Avvo, an independent attorney rating service.
Before founding ADP, David was never on any committees or the president of anything.