Danny Tobey M.D., J.D.

Partner

Global Co-Chair and Chair of DLA Piper Americas AI and Data Analytics Practice

About

Danny is a medical doctor, successful software founder, and chair of DLA Piper's AI & Data Analytics practice. Danny was named Financial Times' Innovative Practitioner in 2023 and led Insider's 2022 list of the top attorneys helping companies adopt AI. A noted thought leader and expert on the safe and effective deployment of AI systems, Danny sat on Pfizer’s Digital Health Scientific Advisory Board and the UN's Executive Committee of the AI for Good Law Track. He sits on the World Economic Forum's AI Governance Alliance, and he is a founding member of the Health AI Partnership with the Mayo Clinic, Duke, and others, which now includes the American Medical Association and HHS's Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology as a federal observer. Danny's AI clients include leading generative AI innovators, Fortune 500 and 100 companies, and breakthrough startups like IDx, the first FDA-approved fully autonomous AI, with whom he co-authored the peer-reviewed Lessons Learned About Autonomous AI: Finding a Safe, Efficacious, and Ethical Path Through the Development Process. Danny was an invited speaker at the AAAI's inaugural AI, Ethics, and Society conference sponsored by Google, IBM, and others, Stanford Law School's CODEX FutureLaw Conference, and the Swiss Embassy on AI innovation in the U.S. Danny advised the American Medical Association on its AI policy and has been recognized by the U.S. Library of Congress for his work on liability and AI. Danny's writing on technology and law has been published by the Yale Journal of Law & Technology, the National Law Journal, the Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, the American Health Law Association, and the Association of Corporate Counsel, among others. Danny has hosted the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the FDA in a fireside chat on AI and moderated the closed-door Ministerial Roundtable in Morocco on Improving Health Outcomes in Africa through Innovative Solutions and the fireside chat in Washington D.C. with His Excellency the President of Malawi and Pfizer, Improving Health Security in Africa through Strategic Partnerships, during the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Danny led a successful software company from inception to acquisition. His original medical research appears in Pediatric Blood & Cancer and the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.

Born in Dallas, Danny is a graduate of Harvard College, Yale Law School, and UT Southwestern Medical School. At Yale, he received the Gruber Prize for the best paper on biological sciences and the law, as well as the Scharps Prize for best paper in the graduating class. At Harvard, he received the Bennett Award for the best essay discussing the principles of free government and the John Harvard Scholarship for academic achievement of the highest distinction. At UT Southwestern, he received the Southwestern Foundation Scholarship for outstanding scholastic achievements. He chairs the board of the non-profit AT&T Performing Arts Center and has served on the Executive Committee of the Yale Law School Association.

Areas of FocusHealthcare Life Sciences Technology Litigation, Arbitration and Investigations Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics

Bar admissionsTexas

EXPERIENCE

Advising numerous machine learning, robotics, and digital health companies on regulatory, liability, and risk mitigation issues
Obtained as lead counsel for Fortune 100 company a voluntary complete dismissal with prejudice of all claims against it in federal court on the eve of filing motion to dismiss
Successfully argued before Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, winning affirmance of dismissal of all claims against client in a trade secrets case; opinion issued two weeks after oral argument
Successfully represented life-sciences company as lead counsel in eight-figure dispute over acquisition
Argued before en banc Delaware Supreme Court, winning affirmance of nearly US$1 million fee award for private equity client against bad-faith litigants; affirmed one day after oral argument by the Chief Justice writing for the full court
Argued before Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, winning unanimous reversal and remand on complex tax issue of first impression involving research and development tax credits; authored winning brief on remand
Represented Medicare Administrative Contractor in defense against consolidated complaint before the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Represented client in litigation with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) involving clinical trial design
Helped obtain complete victory for pharmaceutical client in first Hatch-Waxman case in the Eastern District of Texas; used medical background to prepare scientific non-obviousness case; federal court validated all three patents and enjoined competitors from violating them; result affirmed by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals
Successfully defended major bank against US$19 billion alternative credit manager; handled winning first-chair argument preserving client's counterclaims for US$37.5 million; led drafting of defense motions resulting in dismissal of US$7 million of plaintiff's US$11 million in claims
Obtained dismissal on forum-selection grounds for private equity fund in suit involving allegations of fraud and breach of contract
Represented multiple hospitals in peer review and credentialing matters
Representing molecular diagnostics laboratory in major reimbursement dispute with payor
Conducted investigation for hospital system involving allegations of self-referral and anti-kickback violations
Successfully resolved as mediator case involving allegations of self-referral and anti-kickback violations
Obtained affirmance of complete dismissal of health privacy invasion claims against prominent media outlet in state appellate court
Represented healthcare system in major case involving allegations of physician misconduct and reporting obligations; client found to have no liability on appeal
Represented Quality Improvement Organization against allegations of medical malpractice invoking federal immunity
Represented distressed lender advising on payor disputes of a portfolio hospital system and related proceedings
Successfully defended as lead trial counsel a historic religious denomination sued by a breakaway faction in a church property case in Texas state court; obtained a multimillion-dollar (net) settlement payment to defendant-client and dismissal of all plaintiffs' claims
Lead trial counsel for the SPCA of Texas defending against a complex probate matter; settled favorably at mediation
Second-chaired six-week jury trial in state court defending against US$22 million fraud claim; successfully argued opposition to summary judgment, preserving the client's suit for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty; examined trial witnesses, argued directed verdict and delivered portion of the closing argument
Handled summary judgment proceedings for preeminent law-firm client, obtaining dismissal of all claims in a breach of contract suit
Obtained denial of petition for review by Texas Supreme Court for prominent New York law firm, leaving in place reversal and rendition of dismissal by Dallas Court of Appeals
Led briefing before Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, winning affirmance in pertinent part of plaintiff investment firm's summary judgment win on claims of fraudulent transfer and piercing the corporate veil (monetary damages)

Education

M.D., The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School 2008
Southwestern Foundation Scholarship for outstanding scholastic achievements; four-year Alumni Scholar

J.D., Yale Law School 2003
Benjamin Scharps Prize for "the best paper by a third-year student"
Margaret Gruter Prize for the best paper on biological sciences and the law

A.B., Harvard University 1999
magna cum laude with Highest Honors in Social Studies
1999 Philo Sherman Bennett Award for "the best essay discussing the principles of free government"
John Harvard Scholarship for "academic achievement of the highest distinction"
Phi Beta Kappa

Awards

Publications and Media

Seminars

Panelist, "Artificial Intelligence: Innovations and Regulations in the Entertainment World", USC Gould School of Law-Beverly Hills Bar Association's Institute on Entertainment Law and Business, October 19, 2024
Speaker, "Responsible AI: An Ethical Grounding for General Counsels," Wall Street Journal’s The Modern GC: Navigating Artificial Intelligence, October 10, 2024
Panelist, "Navigating the AI Regulatory Landscape," alongside speakers from SEC and FINRA, Compliance Week AI & Compliance Summit, October 8, 2024
Moderator, "The Latest and Greatest in AI Governance Frameworks—and the Interplay with Privacy and GDPR Compliance Structures: Concrete Examples and Lessons Learned," AI Law, Ethics, Safety & Compliance Conference, September 26, 2024
Panelist, "Innovative Teaming: The New Role of AI," Global Women's Leadership Summit, September 18, 2024
Presenter, "Addressing Legal Risks in GenAI: The Importance of Legal Red Teaming," July 25, 2024
Panelist, "Oxford Future of Professionals Roundtable," Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, June 26, 2024
Panelist, "Emerging Trends in Artificial Intelligence Adoption," ACFE Global Fraud Conference, Las Vegas, June 24, 2024
Moderator, "AI for Good: Corporate Trailblazers," UN AI for Good Global Summit, Geneva, Switzerland, May 31, 2024
Speaker, "AI Summit: Balancing Growth and Governance," Mandarin Oriental, Miami, May 14-15, 2024
Speaker, "2024 CodeX FutureLaw conference," The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, April 11, 2024
Panelist, "Creating AI Tools for Tomorrow: Harnessing AI For Dispute Avoidance, and Effective Dispute Resolution," International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution Annual Meeting, March 8, 2024
Co-Chair of ACI's inaugural Life Sciences AI Summit, February 2024
Speaker, "Ethics & Technology: The Evolving Practice of Law and Your Ethical Responsibilities," 43rd Annual Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate & Securities Law Institute, October 5, 2023
Invited Speaker, "NACD Master Class® on AI's Impact on Strategy and the Board," moderated by Karim Lakhani, Harvard Business School; Chair, D3 Institute at Harvard; Director, Mozilla, August 21, 2023
Speaker, "Council of Public Funds Compliance Officers call on Emerging Standards in AI Governance," July 31, 2023
Invited Panelist, "AI and the AG," AG Alliance Annual Meeting, moderated by Attorney General Kris Kobach, Kansas, June 20, 2023
Presenter, "Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) Claims, Appeals, and Efforts to Reform the Law," the National Retail Federation, June 7, 2023
Presenter, "Tech & Trade Forum in Seoul," the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, May 9, 2023
Speaker, "The Intersection of Law and Artificial Intelligence," Eye on AI #121, April 28, 2023
Speaker, "Adaptive Law: What Will Regulation Become?" CodeX Futurelaw Conference 2023," The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, April 13, 2023
Speaker, "Legal Framework of AI in the United States, Swissnex New York and Boston," Swiss Embassy in the U.S., March 10, 2023
Moderator, "AI: Opportunities and Challenges, panel of FICO and others, Structured Finance Association’s SFVegas," February 26 - March 1, 2023
Moderator, "Leveraging the Private Sector to Reach Health Security Goals in Africa," on the sidelines of the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, January 09, 2023
Moderator, "Fireside Chat on Improving Health Security in Africa through Strategic Partnership," US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, December 13, 2022
Moderator, "Ministerial Roundtable on Improving Health Outcomes in Africa through Innovative Solutions," July 2022
Moderator, "Advancing Patient Outcomes Through Partnerships," Disease Foundation Forum, March 21, 2022
Invited Panelist, "Explainable AI," UTA, 6th Annual Business Analytics Symposium, March 3, 2022
Moderator, "Advances in Healthcare Technology – Cure or Cause?" International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution, Annual Meeting 2022, March 3, 2022
Panelist, "Machine Learning & AI for Healthcare," HIMSS Conference, December 14-15, 2021
Panelist, "Healthy vs Hype: The State of AI in Healthcare," August 30th, 2020
Speaker, "Artificial Intelligence and Health Care: The Intersection of Science and Law," WCL, July 8, 2020
Panelist: "The People vs. OJ Simpson: Strategy Lessons from the Trial of the Century," February 2020
Panelist: "Effective Motion Presentation for the Busy Trial Court: Drafting and Oral Arguments," February 2020
Moderator, "Fireside Chat with Dr. Amy Abernethy," Principal Deputy Commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration, Texas Israel Life Sciences and Healthcare Innovation Conference, October 25, 2019
Distinguished Speaker, "Texas Analytics Summit 2019," Sponsored by Dell, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, "Streamline Your Legal and Privacy Approach to AI" October 17-18, 2019
Speaker, "Texas Analytics Summit," October 2019
Speaker, "Streamline Your Legal and Privacy Approach to AI," Xavier AI Summit, August 2019
Moderator, "Raising Funds for Your Medical Device Company," Biocom's DeviceFest & Digital Health Conference, Moderator, Correlation Ventures, GTCR, August 2019
Moderator, "AI is Everywhere: A Sector-by-Sector discussion regarding the Opportunities and Challenges with Artificial Intelligence," Healthcare: Novartis, IBM Watson Health, Athenahealth, IDx, Suffolk Law School, June 2019
Faculty, TMXc Accelerator, Texas Medical Center, "Digital Health Regulation," February 25, 2019, with Kristi Kung
"Fireside Chat," Duke Institute for Health Innovation, December 3, 2018
Presenter, "Mitigating Legal Risks in Digital Health Adoption," with Kristi Kung, November 13, 2018
Presenter, "Emerging Medical and Legal Issues in AI," October 7, 2018
Presenter, "Email Through the Eyes of Judges and Juries"