About David S
David S West began his legal path after finishing a political science degree at Berry College in 1991 and earning his J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law in 1994. He entered practice in the same year and has maintained an active role in Georgia’s legal community since then. Early choices set the tone for a career centered on criminal matters.
His first positions were as an associate in 1994, working at the Law Offices of Bruce S. Harvey and participating in 1000 Lawyers for Justice. Those roles exposed him to courtroom procedure and client advocacy at the start of his career. He moved into senior-level work in 2003 as a senior lawyer at Plichta & Associates, and a year later he took on leadership responsibilities as managing partner at David West & Associates, a position he holds today.
Admission to practice spans state and federal tribunals. He is admitted to the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Georgia Court of Appeals. He also holds admission in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Active membership in the State Bar of Georgia dates to 1994.
Professional associations have been a constant thread. He joined the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 1995. He has served on committees and maintained memberships with reform-oriented organizations as well, including the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Locally, he has been part of the Cobb County Bar Association and the Marietta Business Association since the mid-2000s. In 2015 he joined the board of advisors for the Georgia C.A.R.E. Project.
Colleagues describe a lawyer who built his practice through steady courtroom work rather than media attention. His resume shows steady progression from associate to senior lawyer to firm leader. He has combined trial work, appellate admissions, and bar association involvement to sustain a long career in criminal defense.
Outside the office, he holds a PADI Open Water Scuba Diver certification, a detail that colleagues sometimes note when the conversation turns away from law. He continues to lead David West & Associates, handling criminal defense matters and related legal work in state and federal courts in Georgia.
He currently practices at David West & Associates, where his work focuses on criminal defense and related matters.
