Abba David Poliakoff is Chairman of the Firm's Securities 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 and 2011 Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business and is listed in the Best Lawyers In America in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 for his work in Corporate and Securities Law.
Abba is the Chairman 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 on the Board of Directors of the Greater Baltimore Technology Council, formerly Chairman of its Legislative Committee, and a co-founder and on the board of the Middle Eastern Chamber of Commerce of Maryland.
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. In his community work, he is on the Board of Directors of the Baltimore Jewish Council; The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore; the Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital; and the Investment Subcommittee of LifeBridge Health. He is also the President of The Maimondes Academy of Baltimore. Abba was the former President for the Maryland Region of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA), and a past president of the Jewish Arbitration and Mediation Board of Baltimore.