David Hartnett practices in general civil litigation, with an emphasis on matters involving accountant and legal malpractice, commercial litigation, truth-in-lending and leasing, unfair and deceptive trade practices, construction law and general business torts.  

He devotes a significant portion of his time to representing clients in the areas of professional liability and consumer tort defense.  Mr. Hartnett’s reported cases include:

• Maunsell v. American General Life and Accident Ins. Co., 707 So. 2d 916 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). In this case the court held that an oral promise to promote an individual prior to execution of a written employment agreement is an unenforceable future promise.
• Southern Bell v. DOT, 668 So. 2d 1039 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996).  This case defined appellate rights for a defendant appealing a summary judgment in favor of a co-defendant to preserve contribution and indemnity rights.

Mr. Hartnett is a member of the American Bar Association and The Florida Bar, and is involved in a variety of other professional activities. Among his diverse professional and personal accomplishments, he served a judicial clerkship with the Honorable Thomas H. Barkdull, Jr., of the Florida Third District Court of Appeal, worked as a public accountant for Deloitte Haskins & Sells, and played professional baseball for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs organizations.

In addition to his other law school accomplishments, Mr. Hartnett was a member of the Moot Court Board and of the Order of Barristers.

Mr. Hartnett joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in May 1995. He has been rated by Martindale-Hubbell for ethics and legal ability. Mr. Hartnett is a frequent lecturer and has addressed litigation-related topics for a number of seminars and symposiums.  Among his presentations are:

• “The Plaintiff’s Lost or Impaired Remedy: Issues of Proof Regarding Collectibility,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2012.
• “Mitigating or Avoiding the Loss,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2011.
• “The Paralegal’s Role at Trial,” South Florida Paralegal Association, Miami, Florida, October 2010.
• “Ethics Update,” Dade County Bar Association and Hinshaw seminar “Legal Malpractice, Ethics and Risk Management,” Miami, Florida, January 2010.
• “E-Discovery Issues: Advising Client Regarding Litigation Holds and Client’s; Compliance with Discovery Obligations; Avoiding E-Discovery Sanctions; Failure to Preserve E-Mails and Temporary Internet Cache Files; and Inadequate Efforts to Preserve Electronic Discovery,” St. Petersburg Bar Association Business Law, Bankruptcy Law and Solo, Small Firm and Practice Management Sections seminar “Legal Malpractice in Hard Economic Times: Risk Management Tools to Avoid Dangerous Pitfalls, St. Petersburg, Florida, May 2009.
• “Plaintiff’s Perspective – Red Flags and Selection Criteria,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2009.
• “Vicarious Liability – The Year in Review,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2008.
• “Ethics in Depositions,” WestLegalEdcenter live webcast, October 2007.
• “Resolving Legal Malpractice Claims Through Mediation and Other Non-Litigation Alternatives,” Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2007.
• “New Rules and Disciplinary Cases,” Palm Beach County Bar Association’s Solo and Small Firm Practitioner’s Committee program, “Legal Malpractice, Ethics and Risk Management Update,” West Palm Beach, Florida, February 2007; and again in Miami, Florida, March 2007.
• “Bankruptcy Law – The Claims, the Rules of Litigation and Standing to Sue,” Hinshaw’s 2006 Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2006.
• “Managing Attorney Client Privilege and Client Confidentiality Involving Electronic Communication,” live webcast, WestLegalEdcenter, August 2005.
• “Disciplinary Update,” Hillsborough County Bar Association’s Legal Malpractice Seminar, Tampa, Florida, May 2005.  
• “Lawyers’ Statutory Liabilities in Collection Matters and Exposures Under ERISA,” Hinshaw’s Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, February 2005.
• "Managing Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work-Product Doctrine in Florida," seminar, National Business Institute, Miami, Florida, December 2004."Legal Malpractice, Ethics and Risk Management," seminar, Dade and Broward County Bar Associations and Hinshaw, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, May 2004.
• "Recent Developments in Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Issues," Hillsborough County Bar Association at Hinshaw's Florida Legal Malpractice/Ethics/ Risk Management Seminar 2003-2004, Tampa, Florida, November 2003.
• “Understanding the Legal Guidelines of Your Relationship: FDCPA, FCRA, and Day One Business,” Florida Collectors Association Semi-Annual Conference, Miami, Florida November 2003.
• "Recent Developments in Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Issues – ERISA Liability, Scope of Sarbanes Oxley, Attorney’s Fees and Long Arm Jurisdiction Over Non-Florida Lawyers," Jacksonville, Miami-Dade and Broward County Bar Associations at Hinshaw's Florida Legal Ethics/Malpractice Seminar, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, April 2003, and Jacksonville, Florida, June 2003.
• “Where Does the Buck Stop and the Litigation Begin? A Dose of Truth About Mold In Schools,” Florida Indoor Air Quality Tools For Schools Training, West Palm Beach, Florida, June 2003.  
• “Liability and Insurance Issues for Building Owners, Managers and Contractors,” Indoor Environmental Health & Technologies Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 2003.
• “Mold Litigation: The Policyholder Perspective,” ABA Insurance and Toxic Tort Meeting, Miami, Florida, February 2003.
• "Attorneys’ Liability Under ERISA," National Conference on Legal Malpractice & Risk Management, Chicago, Illinois, March 2003.
• "Recent Developments in Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Issues – ERISA Liability, Corporate Counsel, Scope of Sarbanes Oxley and Multi-Jurisdictional Practice," Hillsborough County Bar Association at Hinshaw's Florida Legal Ethics/Malpractice Seminar, Tampa, Florida, December 2002.
• “Liability Issues for Building Owners, Operators and Contractors in Mold Litigation,” Southeast Regional Conference on Mold, Lead, Healthy Homes and Children's Environmental Health, Atlanta/Decatur, Georgia, November 2002.  
• "Recent Developments in Legal Malpractice and Risk Management Issues –Corporate Counsel Issues and Recent Developments Related to Client Confidentiality," Miami-Dade and Broward County Bar Associations at Hinshaw's Florida Legal Malpractice Seminar, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, February-March 2002.
• “Tort Reform: Is It Really Relief?” Hinshaw's Florida Insurance Symposiums, Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa, Florida, 1999.
• “Minimizing Attorney Fee Exposure,” Hinshaw's Florida Insurance Symposiums, Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida, 1998.