Abba David Poliakoff

Abba David Poliakoff is Chairman of the Firm's Securities Practice Group and Israel Practice Group, and a member of the Firm's Business Law and Electronic Discovery Practice Groups. After law school, Abba joined the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., where he became a senior attorney in the Division of Corporation Finance. From 1980 to 1983, when he joined the Firm, Abba was associated with the Wall Street law firm of Cahill, Gordon & Reindel in New York.

Abba is active in a variety of areas in the law. Abba's business law practice includes corporate and securities law, venture capital, and intellectual property. He is counsel to public and private entities, consisting of both larger corporations as well as emerging or developing businesses. His experience includes capital formation, including public offerings and private placements; mergers and acquisitions; corporate and commercial financing; and general legal and business consulting. Abba's practice has focused on technology, biotech, intellectual property, and he represents venture capital funds as well as private investors.

Having participated as a panelist in various legal seminars on securities law and commercial financing, Abba has authored a number of publications on those subjects in journals such as the University of Baltimore Law Review; The Forum Law Journal; Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers (MICPEL); The American Bar Association (ABA); National Business Institute; Bowne Digest for Corporate and Securities Lawyers; Aspen Law & Business Journal; Maryland Business Law Watch; The Daily Record and The Maryland Bar Journal.

Abba is currently a member of the Maryland State Bar Association's Business Law Section and former Chair of its Committee on Securities. In addition, he is a member of the American Bar Association's Small Business Committee and Business Law Committee. Formerly he was a member of the Business Regulations Article Review Committee of the Committee to Revise the Maryland Annotated Code. He is listed in the 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and was named in the 2007 - 2015 editions of Best Lawyers In America for his work in Corporate and Securities Law and the 2014 and 2015 editions for Commercial Litigation. Abba was named by Best Lawyers in America as the 2013 Baltimore "Lawyer of the Year" in Securities/Capital Markets Law. He was named by Maryland's Daily Record as an "Influential Marylander" for 2013.

Abba is Chairman Emeritus of the Maryland/Israel Development Center, a joint venture between the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade. He is also a co-founder and on the board of the Middle Eastern Chamber of Commerce of Maryland.

Governor-Elect Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr. has appointed Abba to his transition team, co-chairing the Business Regulation Review Committee. Previously, Governor Martin J. O'Malley appointed Abba in 2009 to the Governor's International Advisory Council on International Commerce and Trade. He was also appointed by Maryland Governor Robert C. Ehrlich, Jr. to the Governor's Transition Committee.

Abba currently serves on a number of Boards, including the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Board of Directors of the BioTechnical Institute of Maryland, the Board of Directors of Champions Oncology, Inc., the Board of the JET Incubator of Baltimore and on several advisory boards. In his community work, he is a member of the Board of Directors and First Vice President of the Baltimore Jewish Council; on the Board of Directors of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore; on the Board of the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital; and on the Investment Subcommittee and on the Government Relations Committee of LifeBridge Health. Abba was the former President for the Maryland Region of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA), a past president of the Jewish Arbitration and Mediation Board of Baltimore, formerly on the Board of Directors of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council, and formerly Chairman of its Legislative Committee.