David Evan Kendall (born May 2, 1944) is an American attorney, a graduate of Wabash College, Yale Law School, and Worcester College, Oxford, who clerked with Supreme Court Justice Byron White, worked as associate counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and has been a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP of Washington, DC since 1981, where he has provided legal counsel to individuals and corporations on high-profile business and political matters.
He is known for his roles in the Coker v. Georgia, Gilmore v. Utah, and other death penalty cases; in the copyright and contract cases of MGM Studios v. Grokster and Tasini v. AOL; as well as in various First Amendment cases, including for The Washington Post. In addition, he is known for having advised President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal, and representing him during his impeachment trial. He served as defense attorney in the successful defense of retired General David Petraeus, and currently represents the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, including in the matter of her use of a private email server while serving as U.S. Secretary of State.
Early life and education
Kendall was born at Camp Atterbury near Edinburgh, Indiana, on May 2, 1944, and grew up in Sheridan, Indiana. While a student at Wabash College, Kendall helped register black voters in Mississippi during the Freedom Summer of 1964, which led to his arrest on multiple occasions. While in Mississippi, he was the roommate of murdered civil rights worker Andrew Goodman during the last week of Goodman's life.
Kendall obtained his Bachelor of Arts in history from Wabash College in 1966 (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa). As a Rhodes Scholar, Kendall earned a degree at Worcester College, Oxford in 1968, elevated to a Master of Arts (Oxon) per tradition. He earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1971, where he met Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.
Representation of President Clinton
Kendall began representing President Clinton in November 1993 in an investigation related to the Arkansas savings and loan, Whitewater Development Company, Inc. he is credited, however, for the fruit born from battles with Starr, including the August 1998 ruling of Judge Norma Holloway Johnson "accusing Starr of violating grand jury secrecy rules," and for improving the public's perception of his client's case by referring to the Starr Report as "an extravagant effort to find a case where there is none."
Representation of Secretary Clinton
Kendall began representing former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, before her State Department appointment, in November 1993, over matters regarding an Arkansas savings and loan, Whitewater Development Company, Inc., as well as in various civil matters.