Your People's Counsel
David S. Lapp
was appointed People’s Counsel in 2021 by Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh. David has 30 years of combined experience as a lawyer, policy analyst and writer focusing on public policy and corporate accountability in important segments of the economy. His positions have required mastery of complicated legal issues and competing public policy goals. As an attorney, his work has emphasized state and federal regulatory policy in the utility, tobacco, and healthcare industries.
Until his appointment as People’s Counsel, David worked from 2004-2020 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland (OAG). David served as Chief Counsel for OAG's tobacco enforcement unit, leading the state's litigation and enforcement of the billion-dollar multi-state tobacco settlement agreement, after which he served as Deputy Counsel for the Maryland Department of Health, addressing healthcare industry regulation and providing advice and representation to the State Medicaid Program.
David graduated in 1998 from the University of Maryland School of Law, Order of Coif. He served as Articles Editor of the Maryland Law Review and received several academic awards. Following law school, he served as a law clerk on the Maryland Court of Appeals for Judge Howard Chasanow. He received his Bachelor of Arts with honors in 1989 from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana.