Testifying expert: Software Engineering
David Howell, the CEO of Expert Guild, is a former Apple software engineer with more than 35 years in the software industry and experience teaching computer science and engineering management at a graduate level. He has been retained as an expert witness in over 20 cases since 2017. The founder of three companies, including one whose intellectual property was acquired by Apple, Mr. Howell focuses on mobile, desktop, and web apps. His roles have included Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Technology Officer (CTO), VP of Engineering, Senior Software Engineer, and member of Boards of Advisors.
Mr. Howell’s engineering clients have included Apple, Intel, Samsung, Hasbro, and Lucasfilm. He has spoken at the National Association of Broadcasters, Apple WWDC, American Film Institute, and Voices that Matter. He holds 8 patents for software and hardware inventions.
As an expert witness, Mr. Howell has written twenty opinions, testified in Federal court twice, arbitration court once, and has been deposed four times, in cases involving patent infringement and validity (including five PTAB inter partes reviews), contract disputes, trade-secret misappropriation, fraud, and wrongful death. His cases have included such parties as Apple, Amazon, TikTok, Eli Lilly, and Intuit. In addition to software engineering, Mr. Howell consults and testifies on general entrepreneurship, engineering strategy, startup investment, and the software development lifecycle.
EDUCATION
• Doctor of Engineering in AI & ML, George Washington University (exp. 2026)
• Master of Legal Studies, Washington University School of Law (exp. 2024)
• MS in Computer Science with a certificate in IP and Tech Law, Portland State University
•MBA, Cornell University
• BS in Computer Science, Case Western Reserve University