Biography
David is a versatile corporate litigator who represents clients across the finance, technology, energy, healthcare, and construction sectors. His practice primarily focuses on:
- Complex commercial disputes
- Corporate governance
- Securities litigation
- Government investigations
Before joining Blank Rome, David was a litigation associate at an international law firm in New York City and served in the legal department of a leading nutritional supplements retailer.
During law school, David was an NYU Institute for International Law and Justice Scholar and a senior editor of the Journal of International Law and Politics. David also served as a summer law clerk at the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.
Before law school, David was a research assistant at a U.S. foreign policy think tank.
David is proficient in German and Hebrew.
Outside the Firm
David lives in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh with his wife and two sons. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking and skiing, playing sports of all kinds, following college basketball, and reading fiction. David is a particularly big fan of University of Illinois basketball, the Gift of Life Marrow Registry, and Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh.
Experience
Commercial Disputes
- An industrial contractor, in a set of commercial and construction litigations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.
- A multinational entertainment company, in federal litigation against a composer over theme song royalties.
- An energy utility, in federal litigation against a former employee for theft of trade secrets.
- A professional sports league, in a dispute with an equipment manufacturer over endorsement rights.
- A healthcare group purchasing organization, in commercial dispute in JAMS arbitration.
Corporate Governance, Securities Litigation, and Government Investigations
- A healthcare company, in a state attorney general investigation of alleged consumer protection violations.?
- A global pharmaceutical company, in shareholder litigation relating to claims of off-label promotion.
- A professional sports association, in a dispute with members concerning fee-shifting bylaws.
- A real estate investment trust, in connection with shareholder derivative and securities actions.
- A major financial services firm, in a regulatory investigation concerning trade reporting under Dodd-Frank.
- A financial services firm, in connection with government insider trading investigations.
News & Views
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Case
Blank Rome Facilitates Settlement Agreement for PSERS
Charles S. Marion, John P. Wixted, Jonathan Scott Goldman, Ian J. Valocchi, David M. Jacobson, Timothy J. Miller
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Press Release
Blank Rome Announces 2024 Elevations: 12 Partners, 3 Of Counsel
Joshua L. Broderson, Robyn N. Burrows, Rachel L. Cohn, Erica R. Graves, John W. Masland, Robyn L. Michaelson
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Case
Blank Rome Successfully Represents NCAA in Final Appeal Sought before PA Supreme Court in Landmark Ex-Athlete Concussion Case
Arthur W. Hankin, Laurence S. Shtasel, Lewis W. Schlossberg, David M. Jacobson
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Media Coverage
Holocaust Victims and Heirs Seek Restitution for Stolen Property in U.S. Courts
Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle -
Event
Blank Rome Hosts Trial Academy VIII at Philadelphia City Hall
Jerry D. Bernstein, Edward N. Cahn, James T. Giles, Alex E. Hassid, David M. Jacobson, Ory Apelboim
Recognitions
- 2012–2013, 2015, Empire State Counsel
- 2013, Golden Gavel Award for Pro Bono Service
Affiliations
David maintains an active pro bono practice. Among other engagements, he has obtained asylum for an Ethiopian refugee in U.S. Immigration Court, defended a nonprofit school pro bono in state court commercial litigation, and represented the City of New York in police misconduct and simple tort actions in state and federal court. Recently, David was part of a team that filed amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court regarding the right of plaintiffs to sue in United States courts to recover property taken in the Holocaust.
Credentials
Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- New York
- U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York
- U.S. District Court - Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court - Western District of Pennsylvania
Education
- Columbia University, BA
- New York University School of Law, JD
- German
- Hebrew