David I. Hantman

David is a dedicated legal advocate and securities attorney who is known for providing creative, results-oriented solutions to complex legal issues, bridging the gap between traditional legal practice and more innovative legal solutions to help clients achieve their objectives in a thoughtful and efficient manner. He passionately advocates for his clients, taking a practical, strategic approach to fully understand his clients’ objectives to help them successfully navigate the court and arbitration systems and regulatory/enforcement process. 

An experienced attorney with extensive trial, arbitration, mediation and regulatory experience, David represents broker-dealers, investment advisers and other financial institutions, along with senior officers, executives, financial advisors, branch management and other individuals in a wide range of securities, civil and employment-related matters in state court, arbitration, mediation and regulatory forums.

David leads the firm’s Expungement practice, working closely with in-house counsel, branch management, registration/regulatory reporting professionals and financial advisors to educate them about the expungement process and help evaluate and achieve the desired outcome. He has built a dedicated team that assists both firms and registered representatives navigate the expungement process through court confirmation and has handled hundreds of expungement matters.

Additionally, David serves as a point of contact and subject matter expert for regulatory reporting and disclosure issues, including making U4/U5 and 4530 reporting determinations for a variety of individuals and firms client. He also leads the firm’s practice in dealing with private designation and accreditation organizations (such as the CFP Board, CIMA, etc.), handling all aspects of the application, disclosure/reporting and investigation/inquiry processes. He recently authorized an article series addressing key issues facing Certified Financial Planners and those looking to become accredited.

Taking a strategic, thoughtful and tireless approach, David has successfully handled countless arbitrations, mediations and court matters nationwide, while representing firms and individuals in state, FINRA and SEC regulatory and enforcement matters. He routinely handles product cases and has experience with a broad array of investments, including equities, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, options, index options, commodities, futures, structured products, derivatives, limited partnerships, annuities, alternative investments (including hedge funds, fund-of-funds and private equity) and managed futures, to name a few. He also has vast experience in addressing outside business activities, operational issues, compliance policies, supervisory policies and standard operating procedures for financial services firms.

Aware of how changes in the legal and regulatory landscape can impact his clients, David frequently authors articles analyzing proposals and changes to best inform his clients. Of note, David worked closely with Financial Institutions industry leaders to author SIFMA’s response to FINRA Regulatory Notice 17-42, which sought to overhaul the expungement process. He also serves as a guest lecturer at New York Law School’s Securities Arbitration Clinic and Alternative Dispute Resolution Arbitration Skills course.

Prior to joining Bressler, David served as a consultant in the hedge fund industry, providing due diligence, operational support and consulting services to hedge funds and funds-of-funds. From 2000-2006, he served as Director of Kroll Associates’ Vendor Integrity Division, helping many Fortune 500 companies mitigate business risk. David’s prior experience also includes prosecuting financial crimes at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and investigating/prosecuting securities law violations at the New York Stock Exchange Enforcement Division (now FINRA). A graduate of Cornell University and New York Law School, he served as Executive Case Comment Editor of the New York Law School Law Review.

News & Alerts

Speaking Engagements & Events

Articles & Publications

Multimedia

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• New York State Bar Association
• New York City Bar Association- Litigation Section

Civic Involvement

• Board of Directors , Westfield Police Athletic League (PAL)

• Co-Founder, Westfield PAL Girls Flag Football League

Get to Know David

In his free time, David enjoys marathon running, cooking and traveling with his wife and two children. He is an active member of the Westfield, NJ community and coaches his children in football, basketball, baseball and softball.