David Elkanich practices in the area of litigation with a focus on attorney disciplinary and legal ethics matters. He advises lawyers, law firms and corporate legal departments in legal ethics, risk management and professional responsibility matters.

Mr. Elkanich also handles professional liability, commercial litigation including products liability and construction defect, consumer litigation and appellate matters. He has experience representing financial institutions and in defending clients in matters arising from the application of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In addition, Mr. Elkanich has experience in litigating issues related to the Uniform Commercial Code. Mr. Elkanich joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in February 2004. Previously he was a staff attorney for more than three years with Metropolitan Public Defenders, Inc., where he was a member of the Major Felony Unit. In this role he gained extensive experience with all aspects of trial representation and client advocacy.

Mr. Elkanich also worked at the Portland, Oregon firm of Bakker, Bender & Karpinski, where he managed domestic violence, juvenile delinquency and dependency caseloads. While a law student, Mr. Elkanich worked at the Lane County Public Defenders Office in Eugene, Oregon, and as a law clerk with the U.S. Attorney's Office, also in Eugene, where he primarily assisted on white-collar crime cases.

Mr. Elkanich’s professional memberships include the Multnomah Bar Association, Oregon State Bar (Legal Ethics Committee), Washington State Bar Association, Associate of Professional Responsibility Lawyers and the American Bar Association – Center for Professional Responsibilities. He is also a panelist on the American Bar Association’s Advisory Panel.

In addition, Mr. Elkanich has been appointed to the Washington State Bar Association’s Rules of Professional Conduct Committee and the Oregon State Bar’s Rules of Professional Conduct Committee. He also served from 2005 to 2007 on the Oregon State Bar’s Uniform (Civil) Jury Instructions Committee. Mr. Elkanich regularly speaks and writes on such topics as professional responsibility and risk management. He contributes to one of Hinshaw’s blogs, “The Ethical Quandary,” a legal ethics and litigation blog written for attorneys, by attorneys.

He is also a very active speaker in the area of continuing legal education, having delivered and participated in more than 40 presentations and seminars. Some of his presentations and speaking engagements in the past few years have included:

• “2011 Annual Employment Law Update,” Oregon Lawyers Institute CLE, Portland, Oregon, June 2011.
• “Social Networking: Managing Communication in a Digital Age,” Lewis & Clark Law School, Portland, Oregon, April 2011.
• “Professionalism & Ethics,” Multnomah Bar Association Young Litigators Forum Seminar Series, Portland, Oregon, March 2011.
• “High Tech Tools – and Traps – for Mergers and Lateral Hiring,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2011.
• “The Hard Questions,” 12th Annual Ethics, Professionalism, and Civility Seminar, Washington State Bar CLE, Seattle, Washington, September 2010.
• “Social Networking: Adopting Strategies to Reduce the Risks of Online Activity,” WestLegalEdcenter, live webcast, July 2010.
• “The Hard Questions,” co-presenter and co-moderator, 11th Annual Ethics, Professionalism, and Civility Seminar, Washington State Bar CLE, Seattle, Washington, September 2009.
• “Ethical Risk Reduction: 10 Ways to Reduce Your Chances of Being Sued or Disciplined,” WestLegalEdcenter live webcast, July 2009.
• "Current Issues and an Ethics Update," CLE, Marion County Bar Association, Salem, Oregon, December 2008.
• “Current Ethics Issues for In-House Counsel,” 5th Annual ORACCA CLE for In-House Counsel, Portland, Oregon, December 2008.
• “End of Year Ethical Reception," Hinshaw hosted 2nd Annual CLE, Portland, Oregon, December 2008.
• "Modern Technology and Ethical Dilemmas," co-presenter, CLE teleconference, Washington State Bar Association, November 2008.
• "Legal Ethics Update," CLE, Oregon Paralegal Association 29th Annual Meeting,  Bend, Oregon, October 2008.
• “Ethics,” presentation and discussion session, Juvenile Law Training Academy, Springfield, Oregon, October 2008.
• "Client Confidences in E-Discovery," CLE, Oregon Law Institute, Portland, Oregon, October 2008.
• "Professionalism Orientation,” program for first year law students, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, August 2008 and 2007.
• "Ethics and E-Lawyering: High Tech Issues and Advertising," Oregon State Bar 2008 Real Estate and Land Use Section, Gleneden Beach, Oregon, August 2008.
• “Child Abuse Legal Ethics,” CLE, Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (OCDLA), Newport, Oregon, April 2008.
• “Current Ethics Issues for In-House Counsel,” 4th Annual ORACCA CLE, Portland, Oregon, December 2007.
• “Motion Practice and the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct,” Oregon State Bar, Portland, Oregon, November 2007.
• "Ethics," CLE, Oregon Paralegal Association 28th Annual Meeting, Wilsonville, Oregon, October 2007.
• "E-Lawyering and Technology in Law Practice: Risk Management Solution?" CLE teleconference, Lorman Education Services, August 2007.
• “DUI and Driving Offenses,” Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Public Defense Management seminar. Salem, Oregon, March 2007.
• “Ethical Implications of an Electronic Practice: Blogs and Metadata,” WestLegalEdcenter live webcast, September 2007.

Mr. Elkanich co-revised and co-edited the Oregon Ethics Opinions to reflect the change from the Code of Professional Responsibility to the Rules of Professional conduct. Some of his publications include:

• “Patent Opinion Firm’s Inadvertent Conflict of Interest Bars Evidence of Patent Opinion,” co-author, “The Business Suit,” a publication of the Defense Research Institute's Commercial Litigation Committee, June 2006.
• "All Clients are not Created Equal, or: 'The Client who Looks too Good to be True,'" The MPC Risk Manager, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Fall 2004).
• "Attorney-Client Privilege Issues," The MPC Risk Manager, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Spring 2004).
• "Beyond the Black Letter: The Art and Science of Risk Management," Peter R. Jarvis and David J. Elkanich, 64 Or St B Bull 27 (April 2004).

Mr. Elkanich participated in The Imprint Program of the Multnomah Bar Association. The program partners an attorney with a middle school student who is interested in the law. They read a book together and communicate by letter regarding their thoughts and impressions.