David H. Wetmore brings over two decades of high-level litigation, policy, and administrative law experience to his role as Senior Counsel at Grossman Young & Hammond. Prior to joining the firm, David served as the Chief Appellate Immigration Judge for the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the highest administrative body interpreting U.S. immigration law. Appointed by the Attorney General in 2020, he adjudicated thousands of appeals and motions, including nationwide precedential decisions. He led the BIA through a major digital transformation that increased efficiency and culminated in the Board’s most productive fiscal year in over 15 years.
David’s government service spans the Department of Justice and the White House. As an Associate Deputy Attorney General, he led the immigration portfolio for two Deputy Attorneys General. In that role, he advised on interagency initiatives related to immigration, national security, and regulatory reform, and was the DOJ’s representative to numerous high-profile policy coordinating committees. David also played a key role in shaping immigration policy during his as an advisor to the White House Domestic Policy Council.
From 2009 to 2017, David served as an appellate litigator in the DOJ’s Office of Immigration Litigation, authoring hundreds of federal court briefs and arguing over two dozen appeals in the federal circuit courts. Earlier in his career, he practiced at Sidley Austin LLP and Jenner & Block LLP, focusing on white collar defense and complex litigation. He served as a law clerk for federal judges on both the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. David has also taught as an adjunct professor at the Geoge Washington University Law School.
David holds a J.D., with High Honors, from the George Washington University Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of The George Washington Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He earned his B.A., magna cum laude, from Miami University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, graduated from the Honors Program, and earned departmental honors in both political science and philosophy.
