David A. Cortman

Senior Counsel, Vice President of U.S. Litigation

David A. Cortman serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom. He has been practicing law for over 25 years, and currently supervises attorneys and legal staff who specialize in constitutional law, focusing on religious freedom, free speech, and sanctity of life.

Cortman has litigated hundreds of constitutional law cases in federal and state court. He has argued in the U.S. Supreme Court in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer, securing a 7-2 victory that overturned Missouri’s denial of a religious school’s participation in a state funding program. Cortman also argued Reed v. Town of Gilbert, securing a 9-0 ruling that prohibits the government from discriminating against religious speech. He also served as lead counsel in Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell, Geneva College v. Burwell and Southern Nazarene University v. Burwell, successfully defending for-profit and non-profit religious employers from providing abortifacient coverage that violates their religious convictions; and ACSTO v. Winn, successfully defending a school choice tax credit program. Cortman also served as co-counsel in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, successfully securing nominal damages to hold government officials liable for constitutional violations; NIFLA v. Beccera, successfully defending free speech rights of pro-life pregnancy centers; Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Col. Civ. Rights Div., successfully defending against government hostility toward religious beliefs about marriage; and Town of Greece v. Galloway, successfully defending the freedom of Americans to pray at public meetings.

Cortman was included in the Empirical SCOTUS Supreme Court All-Stars for having the most First Amendment wins from 2013-17. He regularly appears as a guest in major media outlets. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Regent University School of Law in 1996, and is a member of the bar in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and the District of Columbia. He has taught CLEs and lectures on the First Amendment and civil rights.