David started his career as a Death Penalty mitigation specialist and post-conviction relief lawyer at the Indiana State Public Defender. He has represented thousands of clients in cases from misdemeanor to murder, and as lead counsel, has represented clients in more than 120 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials as a trial deputy at the Marion County Public Defender Agency in Indianapolis. IN 2015 he was hired to become the Chief Public Defender of Lawrence County in Bedford, Indiana where he transformed the way the County dealt with drug charges, shifting the primary focus to treatment. IN 2020, he opened his own law office; Shircliff Law, focused on criminal defense and trial coaching.

David has an MSW and is a nationally recognized trainer, teacher and coach in the areas of criminal defense, trial skills and dealing with secondary trauma. He is passionate about creating new, transformative, hands on workshops that empower defenders to create strong client relations, to hone their trial skills, and to have fulfilling lives outside of criminal defense, by recognizing and effectively combatting the personal, psychological and emotional toll caused by the trauma of doing this work.

He teaches Trial Practice at the I.U. Mckinney School of Law in Indianapolis. He has been a faculty member of the Trial Practice Institute in Indiana, and has been trained by Gerry Spence at the Trial Lawyers College in Dubois, Wyoming.