Daniel Coffman litigates complex, leading-edge cases with a focus on class actions and other civil litigation. Dan has experience defending against a variety of state and nationwide class actions, including consumer privacy cases. His experience includes litigating claims under the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CCMIA), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and numerous other state consumer privacy statutes. Dan also has many years of experience representing businesses in connection with contract and business tort claims.

Dan works with clients to prepare and implement comprehensive defense strategies in response to litigation. He zealously litigates his cases but also takes a common sense, business-centered approach in assessing the best strategy for each case.

Dan has experience in all phases of litigation, including electronic discovery, motion practice, alternative dispute resolution, trial and appeal.

Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Dan worked at a Midwest firm where he represented businesses as both plaintiff and defendant in complex commercial and general liability cases.

During law school, Dan was awarded the Ike Skelton Sr. Prize for best work in trial practice. He also clerked for the Honorable Gary Witt, Missouri Court of Appeals.

Areas of Focus

Cybersecurity & Data Breach Class Actions
Dan has represented and defended businesses in data breach class actions filed in state and federal courts across the country. Dan regularly files dispositive motions, works with clients in developing a strategy for responding to discovery and, where appropriate, assists clients in reaching a negotiated resolution of class claims.

Class Action Defense
Dan has represented businesses in class action litigation involving consumer protection statutes, debt collection laws, breach of contract and product liability claims. Dan aggressively defends clients by filing dispositive motions, discovery motions and oppositions to class certification.

Appellate
Dan has successfully litigated appeals in state and federal courts across the country. He drafts persuasive appellate briefs and meticulously prepares for oral argument before appellate panels.

Commercial Litigation
Dan has represented individuals and businesses, as both plaintiff and defendant, in complex commercial litigation. For instance, Dan has represented clients in matters involving contractual disputes, intellectual property disputes and struggles over corporate control.

Complex Tort & General Casualty
Dan has defended construction companies, property owners and management companies in all manner of premises liability and negligence claims.

    Education

    • University of Missouri School of Law (J.D., 2014)
      • Note and Comment Editor, Missouri Law Review
    • William Jewell College (B.A., with honors, 2009)

    Bar Admissions

    • Missouri
    • District of Columbia
    • Maryland

    Court Admissions

    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, District of Columbia

    Awards & Honors

    • Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2025-2026
    • Selected for inclusion in Washington D.C. Super Lawyers® Rising Stars™, 2023-2024

Daniel R. Coffman

Daniel Coffman litigates complex, leading-edge cases with a focus on class actions and other civil litigation. Dan has experience defending against a variety of state and nationwide class actions, including consumer privacy cases. His experience includes litigating claims under the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CCMIA), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and numerous other state consumer privacy statutes. Dan also has many years of experience representing businesses in connection with contract and business tort claims.

Dan works with clients to prepare and implement comprehensive defense strategies in response to litigation. He zealously litigates his cases but also takes a common sense, business-centered approach in assessing the best strategy for each case.

Dan has experience in all phases of litigation, including electronic discovery, motion practice, alternative dispute resolution, trial and appeal.

Prior to joining Wilson Elser, Dan worked at a Midwest firm where he represented businesses as both plaintiff and defendant in complex commercial and general liability cases.

During law school, Dan was awarded the Ike Skelton Sr. Prize for best work in trial practice. He also clerked for the Honorable Gary Witt, Missouri Court of Appeals.

Daniel R. Coffman

D.C. Class Action Team Prevails on Motion for Reconsideration: Court Concedes It Committed Clear Error in Certifying a Class Action

Washington, D.C. partners David Ross and Kevin P. Farrell and associate Daniel Coffman secured a rare acknowledgement from the District of Columbia Superior Court, which conceded it committed a clear error in previously certifying a class in a case related to vehicle repossession practices. The court had found that proposed class members suffered similar injuries based on an alleged practice of overcharging for repossession and vehicle storage and other actions taken after a customer’s default. Wilson Elser filed a motion contending that the court did not address issues presented in its Opposition to Class Certification. The court agreed, finding that a class cannot be certified for several reasons: (1) plaintiff lacks standing because her claims are based entirely on past conduct; (2) plaintiff cannot serve as class representative or a member of a class because her claims are time-barred; (3) arbitration and class waiver clauses in the plaintiff’s and proposed class member’s contracts preclude class certification; and (4) the court’s sua sponte reliance on a municipal regulation was misplaced. 

David M. Ross, Kevin P. Farrell and Daniel R. Coffman

Class Action Complaint

Farrell and Coffman Secure Dismissal of All Claims Against Military Defense Contractor

Kevin Farrell (Partner-Washington, DC) and Daniel Coffman (Associate-Washington, DC) prevailed on a motion to dismiss on behalf of a United States military defense contractor after a plaintiff attempted to add the contractor to a suit regarding the loss of plaintiff’s security clearance. The motion to dismiss demonstrated that the tortious interference and other claims against Wilson Elser’s client were barred by the statute of limitations. The plaintiff argued that several exceptions applied, including that his claims were timely because the D.C. Superior Court’s COVID-19 orders tolled the statute of limitations. While noting that the relevant orders were not a model of clarity, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with Dan and Kevin’s concise analysis of the D.C. Superior Court’s COVID-19 orders, and found that the claims were time-barred. The court further determined that (1) the continuous tort doctrine does not apply to the plaintiff’s claims, (2) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure’s joinder rules have no bearing on whether the plaintiff’s claims are timely, and (3) under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 the plaintiff’s claims did not “relate back” to his first complaint because his failure to timely add the contractor as a defendant was not the type of mistake Rule 15 was meant to remedy. All claims against Wilson Elser’s client were dismissed with prejudice. 

Kevin P. Farrell and Daniel R. Coffman

Coffman, Das, Ross, Viergever and Williams Defeat Federal Data Breach Class Action

Daniel Coffman (Associate-Washington, DC), Anjali Das (Partner-Chicago, IL), David Ross (Partner-Washington, DC), Kim Viergever (Of Counsel-Denver, CO) and Ryan Williams (Partner-Denver, CO) obtained dismissal with prejudice of a federal data breach class action filed against a services vendor for mental health care providers in the District of Colorado. The case comprised eight consolidated class actions brought by 15 named plaintiffs that arose out of a ransomware incident that involved the personal information of almost 4.3 million individuals and included sensitive information such as health information and Social Security numbers. The court agreed that all of the named plaintiffs lack Article III standing, dissecting each of their alleged theories of harm and coming down on the side of the more reasoned courts that have found these types of theories fail to establish standing – public disclosure of private information, increased spam, diminution in value of PHI/PII, emotional distress and future harm. The court concluded that “Plaintiffs have failed to allege injuries in fact that are fairly traceable to the Defendants’ complained-of conduct,” and issued a judgment dismissing the plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice and closing the case. 

Daniel R. Coffman, Anjali C. Das, David M. Ross, Kimberly Viergever and Ryan A. Williams

Cybersecurity Class Action
Privacy Settings
Your Privacy Choices
We value your privacy. Under privacy laws in your jurisdiction, you have the right to control how your personal information is used, including the right to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You may also limit the use of your sensitive personal information.

Below, you can review and adjust your cookie and data sharing preferences. For more information about how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

Your Rights and Choices

Opt Out of Sale or Sharing: You may opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for advertising and analytics purposes by turning off Advertising & Targeting Cookies. We will honor your choice and will not sell or share your personal information for these purposes unless you enable these cookies again. Wilson Elser does not sell or share personal information in any other manner.

Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information: If we collect sensitive personal information, you may limit its use to only what is necessary to provide requested services by adjusting your preferences here. Please contact privacy@wilsonelser.com with any questions.

Global Privacy Control: We honor browser-based opt-out signals, such as the Global Privacy Control (GPC). If we detect such a signal, your opt-out preference will be automatically applied.
These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually set in response to actions made by you, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. If you do not allow these cookies, some or all of these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They may be set through our site by us or our analytics partners to understand your interests and deliver more relevant content to you. If you do not allow these cookies, we will not know when you have visited our site