David S. Mackey

Dave is the former General Counsel (2001-2013) and Interim CEO (2011-2012) at the Massachusetts Port Authority, Chief of the Civil Division and then First Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston (1994-2001), and Chair of the Board of Bar Overseers from 2010 to 2013.  Private and governmental clients turn to Dave for representation in litigation, regulatory and administrative matters.

Dave focuses his work in these four areas:

• Litigation: Dave represents clients in high-profile matters. Recent examples include success in the Supreme Judicial Court defending on behalf of the Massachusetts Port Authority a preliminary injunction barring car-sharing company Turo, Inc. from operating at Logan Airport, the successful defense of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in multiple lawsuits brought to challenge the Commission’s casino licensing decisions, the successful defense of the MBTA in a consumer class action seeking damages for storm-related disruptions in commuter rail service, and successful representation of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission in a sovereignty dispute with Dukes County over the Airport.
• Airports: Dave represents airports of all sizes in litigation and regulatory matters, including in federal grant compliance, revenue use, leasing practices, noise regulation, and other issues.
• Internal Investigations: as General Counsel and Interim CEO of Massport, Dave addressed myriad issues relating to employment issues and regulatory compliance, including criminal and workplace misconduct. Dave’s eight years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including his tenure as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, gave him invaluable experience in investigations and law enforcement, which has served him well in advising clients in sensitive workplace matters.
• Public Law: Dave frequently advises his governmental clients on issues related to ethics, conflicts of interest, the Public Records Act, the Open Meeting Law, as well as complex internal governance issues.
• Professional Responsibility:  Based on his experience as a former member and Chair of the Board of Bar Overseers, Dave frequently represents attorney clients, and has served as an expert witness, in legal ethics and professional discipline matters.

Dave also serves with George Hall as the firm’s general counsel.

• Litigation
• White Collar Defense & Government Enforcement
• Airports
• Internal Investigations
• Public Law
• Insurance

Education

Harvard Law School, J.D. 1983 cum laude
Amherst College, B.A. 1979 summa cum laude

Admissions

Massachusetts

U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit

U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

Clerkship

Honorable Chief Justice Edward F. Hennessey, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

The Best Lawyers in America©, Commercial Litigation, 2018 - 2023

The Best Lawyers in America©, Appellate Practice, 2021 - 2023

The Best Lawyers in America©, Litigation - Municipal, 2021 -2023

The Best Lawyers in America©, Administrative/Regulatory Law, 2022-2023

Massachusetts Super Lawyers, 2018-2024

Airports Council International, Member of the Legal Steering Group and former Chair (2005-2013)

Board of Bar Overseers, former Chair (2010-2013); former Member (2009-2013)

Boston College Law School, "Corporate Crises: Internal Investigations, Ethics and Compliance," Adjunct Professor (Spring 2017, Fall 2014)

SJC Standing Committee on the Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure, appointed 2017

• Obtained and successfully defended in the Supreme Judicial Court a preliminary injunction against car-sharing company Turo, Inc., from operating at Logan Airport.
• Successfully defended the Massachusetts Gaming Commission against a challenge by several municipalities to the Commission's award of a casino license to Wynn Resorts.
• Successfully defended the MBTA in a consumer class action regarding disruptions in commuter rail service during the historically bad winter of 2015.
• Appointed as a Special Master by a federal judge to investigate the facts and review the propriety of a guilty plea by two corporate defendants in a criminal Clean Air Act matter.
• Successfully defended Massport in a lawsuit brought by a group of clamdiggers under the Oil Pollution Act, alleging that a jet fuel spill at Logan Airport damaged clam beds.
• Led a team of in-house and outside counsel in the 9/11 Commission investigation and related inquiries. Successfully managed the defense of multi-billion dollar lawsuits stemming from the terror attacks.
• As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, he litigated several False Claims Act and qui tam (whistleblower) matters and prosecuted one of the most significant post-Nuremberg Nazi war crimes cases.

News

• Eighteen Anderson & Kreiger Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
• 2025 Honorees for Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers & "Ones to Watch" by Best Lawyers in America
• Sixteen Anderson & Kreiger Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
• 2024 Honorees for Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers & "Ones to Watch" by Best Lawyers in America
• 15 Anderson & Kreiger Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers and Rising Star Lists
• Three Anderson & Kreiger Lawyers Receive “Lawyer of the Year” Awards from Best Lawyers®; 20 Lawyers Recognized
• 15 Anderson & Kreiger Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers and Rising Star Lists
• 2021 Anderson & Kreiger Pro Bono Highlights
• 16 Anderson & Kreiger Attorneys Named to Super Lawyers and Rising Star Lists

Speaking Engagements

• Anderson & Kreiger’s David Mackey to Speak at 2022 Massachusetts Airport Management Association Conference
• Anderson & Kreiger Attorneys Speak at ACI-NA Conference

• Panelist, “Litigation Update,” ACI-NA Annual Conference (November 2021).
• Speaker, "Legalities and Practicalities Involved in Generating Revenue from Businesses on the Airport", Massachusetts Airport Managers Association (MAMA) (October 2019).
• Speaker, "Legal Pitfalls for Airports Roundtable", and  "Airport Commissioner's Roundtable", Massachusetts Airport Managers Association (MAMA) (September 2018).
• For the past 7 years (2013-2019) Dave has presented the annual legal ethics lecture at the Airports Council International (“ACI”) Spring Legal Committee meeting.
• Panelist, "State and Local Regulations of Drones", National Association of State Aviation Officials (“NASAO”) (January 2017).
• Dave and Mina Makarious delivered a presentation on state and local regulations of drones at the Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association Annual Meeting (In September 2016).
• Dave delivered a presentation at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston on United States v. Aleksandras Lileikis, a war crimes case against a Nazi collaborator whom Dave prosecuted as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (April 2016).
• Dave delivered a presentation on the attorney/client privilege to the in-house legal department of a large public sector entity (February 2016).
• Dave lectured on legal ethics issues at the Society for Corporate Compliance and Ethics Conference in Boston (November 2014).
• Dave spoke about the defense of a multi-million dollar lawsuit against an A&K airport client involving financing for a start-up airline, at the Airports Council International (ACI) annual meeting (November 2014).
• Dave presented a lecture on legal ethics for in-house lawyers to a large in-house legal department of an A&K client (February 2014)
• Panelist, “What General Counsel Want”, MCLE New England (October 2013).
• Dave spoke on Airport Access and Airport Revenue Diversion at the ACI Legal Affairs conference (May 2013).
• Dave presented the annual legal ethics lecture at the American Association of Port Authorities, Port Administration and Legal Issues Seminar  (April 2013).