David Sheaffer co-teaches the fall Appellate Competition class (LAW 627Q), and he coaches and advises several student moot court teams throughout year. Beyond teaching, he serves as the senior (career) law clerk for Justice Elizabeth M. Welch of the Michigan Supreme Court where David's duties include being a chief of staff, research attorney, and advisor to the Justice. Prior to assuming this role, he practiced appellate litigation, commercial litigation, and real-estate/land-use law at Williams, Williams, Rattner & Plunkett, P.C. in Birmingham, Michigan. David also had the honor of working for two additional Michigan Supreme Court Justices, first as a student intern for Justice Bridget M. McCormack and then as a term clerk for Justice Richard H. Bernstein.

David graduated summa cum laude, from MSU College of Law in 2017, where he was a King Scholar (Capstone Paper: TSCA Reform, Preemption, and Manufacturer Influence: Does the New Law Hang States Out to Dry?, PDF) and an Articles Editor for the Michigan State Law Review (Student Note: The Price of Regulation: Rethinking Executive Review of Administrative Rulemaking, PDF). He served as an officer for several student organizations, including the MSU Law Moot Court Board, and received several book awards. David discovered a passion for public speaking in law school and became an enthusiastic moot court competitor who received awards from or placed in each moot court competition in which he participated. He has been giving back to MSU Law's moot court program since graduating, both as a volunteer and now as faculty.

A lifelong passion for conservation and an interest in the societal barriers to combatting climate change propelled David to graduate magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Science and a minor is Sociology from Washington State University. Prior to pursing a law degree, David worked as a wildland firefighter in Idaho. He is currently the inaugural chairman of the Southfield Wildlife Advisory Commission and an officer of the Oakland County Bar Association New Lawyers Committee.