Abba David Poliakoff, Member
Abba is a Member of the firm's Securities and Business Law practice groups. After law school, Abba started on the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, 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 variety of areas in the law. His Business Law practice includes corporate and securities law, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, and intellectual property. He is counsel to public and private entities, consisting of both larger corporations as well as developing businesses. His experience includes capital formation and private placements; mergers and acquisitions; corporate and commercial financing; and general legal and business consulting. Abba's practice has focused on technology, biotech and 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.
Governor Larry Hogan appointed Abba to Co-Chair of Maryland's Regulatory Reform Commission, which reviewed the state's business regulations to reduce the regulatory burden on business without jeopardizing the safety and welfare of Maryland residents. In 2009, Governor Martin J. O'Malley appointed Abba to the Governor's Advisory Council on International Commerce and Trade. He was also appointed by Governor Robert C. Ehrlich, Jr. to the Governor's Transition Committee. Governor Hogan previously appointed Abba in 2015 to serve on the One Maryland Blue Ribbon Commission.
From 2006 to 2014, Abba was Chairman of the Maryland/Israel Development Center, a joint venture between the Maryland Department of Commerce and the Israeli Ministry of Industry and Trade. He was also a founder of the Maryland/Israel Trendlines Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in Israeli companies and technologies.
Abba is currently a member of the Maryland State Bar Association's (MSBA) Business Law Section and former Chair of its Committee on Securities. In addition, he is a member of the ABA's 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 has been listed in Chambers USA:America's Leading Lawyers for Business since 2004 and was named in the Best LawyersInAmerica for his work in Corporate and Securities Law since 2007 and for Commercial Litigation since 2014. 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 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 the JET Incubator of Baltimore, the Board of Directors of the Simon E. Sobeloff Jewish Law Society and on several advisory boards. Abba chairs the Innovation Committee of the University School of Medicine's Board of Visitors. In his community work, Abba is on the Board of, and was formerly President of, the Baltimore Jewish Council; is on the Board and formerly Chairman of the Board of Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital; and is a member of the Government Relations Committee of LifeBridge Health. Abba is a past president of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA) – Maryland Region, a past president of the Jewish Arbitration and Mediation Board of Baltimore, and formerly on the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Greater Baltimore Technology Council.
Honors
AV Preeminent™ rating in Martindale-Hubbell®
Named to Chambers USA® 2004-2006, 2010-2015, 2018, 2021, 2022
Selected to Maryland Super Lawyers® list for Business/Corporate, Securities & Corporate Finance, and Mergers & Acquisitions since 2007 and Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions, 2021
Named to Best Lawyers in America®for Corporate Law, Securities/Capital Markets Law and Securities Regulation since 2007 and for Commercial Litigation since 2014
Named to Best Lawyers in America®for Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice, Commercial Finance Law, and Mergers & Acquisition Law since 2021
Recipient, Leadership in Law Award, The Daily Record, 2015
Recipient, Hanan Sibel Maryland/Israel Business Leadership Award, April 2014
Named Baltimore's "Lawyer of the Year" in Securities/Capital Markets Law by Best Lawyers in America®, 2013
Named "Influential Marylander," The Daily Record, 2013
Named to SmartLawyers, SmartCEO, 2007 and 2008
News
- 28 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America® 2025
- 21 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named to 2024 Super Lawyers® List and 14 as Rising Stars
- 28 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America® 2024
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2023
- 26 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America® 2023
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2022
- 17 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named to 2022 Super Lawyers® List and 9 as Rising Stars
- 25 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America® 2022
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2021
- 17 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named to 2021 Super Lawyers® List and 7 as Rising Stars
- 24 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America® 2021
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2020
- 24 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America® 2020
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2019
- 22 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named to 2019 Super Lawyers®
- Gordon Feinblatt Forms EMERGE Team
- 24 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America® 2019
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2018
- 24 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named to 2018 Super Lawyers
- 25 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named to Best Lawyers in America 2018
- 23 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named to 2017 Super Lawyers
- 25 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America 2017
- 28 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America 2016
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2015
- 26 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named Best Lawyers in America 2014
- 22 Gordon Feinblatt Attorneys Named 2014 Maryland Super Lawyers
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2013
- Abba David Poliakoff Named Baltimore 2013 "Lawyer of the Year" for Securities/Capital Markets Law by Best Lawyers In America®
- 27 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named As Best Lawyers in America 2013
- 24 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named as Best Lawyers in America 2012
- Gordon Feinblatt Awarded Top Rankings in Chambers USA 2011
- 14 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Selected To Maryland Super Lawyers for 2011
- 20 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named as Best Lawyers in America 2011
- 14 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Selected to Maryland Super Lawyers for 2010 and 6 Selected to Maryland's Rising Stars
- 19 Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named to Maryland's 2009 Super Lawyers and 3 Named to Maryland's "Rising Stars"
- Seventeen Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named to Best Lawyers in America 2009
- Fifteen Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named to 2008 Best Lawyers in America
- GFR Lawyers Chosen for Super Lawyers 2007
- Thirteen Gordon Feinblatt Lawyers Named Best Lawyers in America
Professional and Civic Involvement
Co-Chair, Regulatory Reform Commission of Maryland (appointed by Governor Lawrence Hogan, Jr., 2015-2017)
Member, Governor's International Advisory Council on International Commerce and Trade (appointed by Governor Martin J. O'Malley, 2009-2014)
Past President, Baltimore Jewish Council
Member, Board of Visitors, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Member, Board of Directors, BioTechnology Institute of Maryland
Member, Board of Directors, JET Incubator of Baltimore
Chairman Emeritus, Maryland Israel Development Center
Member, Board of Directors, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, Inc.
Member, Government Relations Committee, Board of Directors, LifeBridge Health
Member, Board of Directors, Simon E. Sobeloff Jewish Law Society
Appointed by Governor Robert C. Ehrlich, Jr. to Governor's Transition Team
Member, Maryland State Bar Association Business Law Section, Committee on Securities
Member, American Bar Association
Publications and Lectures
- Updated: Corporate Transparency Act Requires Reporting Companies to File with FinCEN starting January 1, 2024
- The Corporate Transparency Act
- Selling Equity in Your Start-Up Company to Raise Capital? Avoid These Securities Law Pitfalls When Doing So
- Gordon Feinblatt’s COVID-19 Information Hub
- Economic Aid Act: The Relaunch of the Paycheck Protection Program
- What a Stage One Reopening Looks Like in Maryland
- What COVID-19 Means for Businesses
- COVID-19 Financial Assistance for Businesses
- Corporate Exit Strategies: How to Position Your Company and Be Prepared When the Time Is Right
- SEC Proposes Rule on Pay Ratio Disclosure
- Filing Deadline for Exempt Investment Advisers
- Update on Maryland Tax Reform Act of 2007 Additional Tax Reporting For Corporate Groups - October 15, 2008 Deadline Extended to November 29, 2008
- Maryland Tax Reform Act of 2007: Additional Tax Reporting For Corporate Groups - October 15, 2008 Deadline
- Relaxed Resale Restrictions on Restricted Stock Go Into Effect
- SEC's E-Proxy Rules: New Internet Posting and Delivery Requirements
- Nasdaq Stock Market Becomes A National Securities Exchange; Changes Market Designations
- Deferred Compensation Arrangements: What To Do Before 12/31/06
- New SEC Rules May Affect Health Care Attorneys and Clients
- New SEC Rules Focus on Financial Accountability
- Implementing the New Disclosure Controls
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Maryland Bankers Association
- Corporate Responsibility Checklist
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002: Sweeping Accounting Reform and Corporate Accountability
- Employee Benefits for Decision Makers: Current Issues Facing Retirement Plans and Health and Welfare Plans, LORMAN® Seminar
- The Duties of Corporate Directors
- SEC Breaks New Ground for Medical Group
Teams
Business
EMERGE
Mergers & Acquisitions
Securities
Technology & Intellectual Property
Education
J.D.,
magna cum laude,
University of Baltimore School of Law,
1977
B.T.L.,
Ner Israel Rabbinical College, Loyola College,
1973
Bar Admissions
Maryland,
1977
District of Columbia,
1978