David P. Abel

David P. Abel serves as Senior Counsel for Berman Tabacco. David’s efforts are focused on achieving financial recoveries for institutional investors. He represents market participants from across the world in U.S. securities litigation and related shareholder matters.

David is an accomplished securities and business attorney with a notable record in litigation, operations and advisory services. He possesses a deep understanding of securities law, fund management and financial markets, supported by years of experience representing institutional investors and counseling clients on complex litigation. David has been a key member of legal teams that have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries for class members. He has also achieved corporate governance reforms on behalf of all shareholders of target companies. His proficiency extends to advising litigation funders, legal services companies, and venture capital firms on financial dispute risks and opportunities.

Prior to joining Berman Tabacco, David served as Managing Attorney of a boutique D.C. law firm, where he oversaw operations, originated proprietary case strategies and represented institutional investors in securities and antitrust litigation. David has also acted as counsel for a litigation funding company, third party claims filer, legal claim purchaser, and other entities in the financial disputes arena. Through these engagements, he has served as a legal advisor and consultant on several international class and collective actions. Earlier in his career, David litigated securities class actions at a large, nationally recognized plaintiff law firm. He focused on case origination, securities portfolio monitoring and lead plaintiff appointments. His proficiency in lead plaintiff motion practice resulted in a high success rate of his firm’s client being appointed as lead plaintiff or co-lead plaintiff. He also managed complex discovery projects and drafted pleadings and briefs for high-stakes matters.

Education

• Charleston School of Law (J.D., 2009)
• The Citadel (M.B.A., 2005)
• Clemson University (B.A., Speech and Communications; Spanish, 2002)

Experience

David has been involved in numerous complex securities matters throughout his career. Notable securities fraud class actions in which he served as part of the lead counsel team include:

• In re Barrick Gold Securities Litigation, No. 1:13-cv-03851 (S.D.N.Y.) ($140 million recovery)
• Bennett v. Sprint Nextel Corp., 2:09-cv-02122 (D. Kan.) ($131 million recovery)
• City of Brockton Retirement System v. Avon Products, Inc., No. 1:11-cv-04665 (S.D.N.Y.) ($62 million recovery)
• City of Sterling Heights General Employees’ Retirement System v. Hospira, Inc., No. 1:11-cv-08332 (N.D. Ill.) ($60 million recovery)
• Hill v. State Street Corp., No. 1:09-cv-12146 (D. Mass.) ($60 million recovery)
• In re Hewlett-Packard Co. Securities Litigation, No. 8:11-cv-01404 (C.D. Cal.) ($57 million recovery)
• KBC Asset Management NV v. 3D Systems Corp., No. 15-cv-02393 (D.S.C.) ($50 million recovery)
• In re Medtronic, Inc. Securities Litigation, 13-cv-01686 (D. Minn.) ($43 million recovery)
• In re Dell, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. A-06-CA-726 (W.D. Tex.) ($40 million recovery)
• Första AP-Fonden v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., No. 0:12-cv-03070 (D. Minn.) ($39.25 million recovery)
• Hatamian v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., No. 4:14-cv-00226 (N.D. Cal.) ($29.5 million recovery)
• Ross v. Career Education Corp., No. 1:12-cv-00276 (N.D. Ill.) ($27.5 million recovery)
• KBC Asset Management NV v. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 1:14-cv-10105 (D. Mass.) ($22.25 million recovery)

For several years, David also advised a litigation funding company in organizing and financing claims for securities litigation outside of the United States. In this role, he managed the opt-in claims of hundreds of institutional investors from across the world.

David has also counseled venture capital firms on the purchase of legal claims. In this role, he has advised on merits of an action and estimated potential damages recoveries. He has similarly advised legal services companies in developing products for clients participating in financial disputes. As an example, he worked on the creation of a portfolio monitoring platform. The application tracked securities lawsuit filings and then calculated losses in matters that correlated with a client’s investments.

Being highly proficient in the economics of financial disputes, David has been engaged by other law firms to conduct investor losses and class damages assessments for prospective clients and matters.

Admissions

• District of Columbia Bar
• State Bar of South Carolina
• U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
• U.S. Supreme Court

Affiliations

• Bar Association of the District of Columbia
• South Carolina Bar Association
• Council for Institutional Investors (2020-2025), Markets Advisory Council (2023 -2025)

Publications, Presentations & Appearances

David is a regular speaker and presenter on issues involving securities litigation. He has also authored numerous articles and reports. Select events and writings include:

• Moderator of Panel Presentation, The Hidden Alpha: Why Only 7% of Hedge Funds Perfect Securities Litigation Recoveries, SS&C Webinar (Apr. 16, 2026)
• Moderator of Panel Presentation, Setting up for Success in International Securities Litigation: Current Trends and Best Practices for Investor Participation, Battea Class Action Services Webinar (Nov. 7, 2023)
• Moderator of Panel Presentation, International Litigation Spotlight & Industry State of the Union, Council of Institutional Investors Fall Conference (Sep. 12, 2023)
• Author of SPAC Federal Securities Litigation Analysis – Summary findings of SPAC—related federal securities litigation filed between January 2019 and April 2022 (June 1, 2022)
• Panel presenter on State of Affairs: Global Securities Class Action Update, Class Action Money and Ethic Conference (May 2, 2022)
• Author of Selling Securities Class Action Claims to Realize Value, The Hedge Fund Journal (July 2020)
• Author of 2017 Securities Class Action Report – In Review: Lead Plaintiff Motions Filed in 2017 (Jan. 22, 2018)
• Author of Lead Plaintiff Primer – An overview of U.S. federal securities laws, class action procedure and the role of lead plaintiff in securities class action litigation (June 1, 2017)
• Author of 2016 Securities Class Action Report – In Review: Lead Plaintiff Motions Filed in 2016 (Jan. 20, 2017)