A Lawyer Who Can Help at Many Stages of Life
David Van Gilder is an attorney in Fort Wayne. He is an experienced litigator with 42 years of experience practicing law and is a founder and partner at Fletcher Van Gilder.
David handles personal injury, workers’ compensation, guardianship, estate planning, and more. He is your partner in protecting your legal rights, securing your future, and achieving your goals
David also advises clients on business, land use and environmental issues.
David embodies one of the fundamental qualities of Fletcher Van Gilder through his capacity to serve clients in multiple areas of the law.
“Ignoring the advice to specialize,” he recalled, “my law practice has spanned the breadth of real work for real people—focusing on problem-solving and justice in the context of obstacles most people encounter in their regular lives.”
A benefit of working between several areas of law, he says, is that the firm can identify multiple avenues for you to get the support and resources you need to solve problems and survive setbacks.
David helped shape the firm’s culture of listening carefully to clients, providing welcoming, approachable legal service, and connecting people with all available resources to meet their needs.
David began his legal career in Fort Wayne as a judicial law clerk for the Allen Superior Court. David established his law firm in 1996 and credits mentors in those early years as models of legal professionalism, strong work ethic, and temperament that prioritizes personable legal services to clients.
David established the law firm Fletcher Van Gilder in 2019. His daughter, Audrey Van Gilder, joined the firm in 2020.
“Much of my worldview is informed by the two years my wife and I served as teachers in Botswana, Africa, as U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers,” he says. “There is no greater joy than serving others, and that idea has permeated all that I do, even now toward the end of my law career.”
