David L. Liebow is of counsel to Godwin Adkins. David has broad experience representing individuals and businesses in a wide variety of both civil and criminal matters. He currently uses that expertise to assist other Godwin Adkins attorneys in particularly complex or otherwise challenging matters.

David has extensive litigation experience in civil, family, criminal, and appellate courts. He has experience trying and winning cases from misdemeanor theft to felony criminal sexual conduct, from divorces to restraining orders. He is also one of the more experienced appellate litigators in southeastern Minnesota, having handled more than two dozen appeals. Among David’s appellate cases are State v. Jorgenson, in which he argued a first-of-its-kind First Amendment challenge and won decisions in both the Minnesota Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Supreme Court invaliding a decades-old portion of Minnesota’s criminal code.

David has long ties to the Rochester, Minnesota community. Born in Illinois, he was raised in Rochester, Minnesota and attended Rochester schools, graduating from Mayo High School. David attended the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and graduated in 2008, double majoring in political science and psychology. David then went on to attend the University of Minnesota Law School, one of the top-ranked law schools in the country. During law school, David published a scholarly work on the state of Breathalyzer source code challenges to DWI cases in Minnesota.

Before joining Godwin Adkins, David worked for another private law firm in Rochester, where he concentrated on criminal defense and appeals, after which he founded Liebow & Liebling, PLLC. Before that, he was a St. Paul-based judicial law clerk for the Honorable J. Thomas Mott in Ramsey County District Court. During law school, he served as a certified student attorney for the Ramsey County Public Defender’s Office, representing hundreds of criminal defendants charged with everything from driving offenses to theft to assault to murder.

David’s deep involvement in the legal community demonstrates the respect which he has earned from other lawyers. David is a past president of the Third District Bar Association and has served as a board member of the Olmsted County Bar Association. David also has held memberships in the Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) and the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) and has served as a volunteer attorney for Legal Assistance of Olmsted County. David has taught clinics on criminal expungement and on family law through the Olmsted County Law Library and Legal Assistance of Olmsted County. He has been asked to speak for continuing legal education on criminal expungement, criminal records, appeals, orders for protection/harassment restraining orders, and law practice ethics. David’s extensive volunteer work has been recognized with his being named a North Star Lawyer in 2014, 2016, and 2017 by the MSBA.

David has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

In addition to his legal work, David has years of experience as a full-time compliance professional. He holds a certification from the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics, the Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional. He also holds two certifications from the Health Care Compliance Association: the Certified in Healthcare Compliance and the Certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance.

Practice Areas

• Civil Litigation
• Criminal Defense
• Appeals
• Criminal Expungement
• Criminal Investigations
• Orders for Protection/Harassment Restraining Orders
• Family Law

Litigation

• Majority of Practice Dedicated to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota Supreme Court (2011)
• United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (2013)
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (2017)

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
  • Juris Doctorate (2011)
  • Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology, Managing Editor (2010-2011), Staff Member (2009-2010)
• University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
  • Bachelor of Arts (2008)
  • Double Major in Psychology and Political Science

Professional Associations/Memberships

• Minnesota State Bar Association (Member, 2011-2020)
• Olmsted County Bar Association (Member, 2013-2019) (Board Member, 2015-2019)
• Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (Member, 2014-2020)
• Minnesota Criminal Expungement Task Force (Member, 2015-2019)
• Third District Bar Association (Member, 2013-2020) (President, 2016-2017)
• Eighth Circuit Bar Association (2017-2020)
• Health Care Compliance Association (2021-Present)

Pro Bono Work

• Legal Assistance of Olmsted County (Volunteer Attorney, 2013-2019)
• Olmsted County Law Library/Legal Assistance of Olmsted County Expungement Clinic (2014-2019)