Overview

David Pikus gets results. He has been actively engaged as a litigator for over three decades in New York and New Jersey. Devoted to complex cases, his experience has spanned nearly all facets of litigation, including general commercial, matrimonial, bankruptcy, regulatory, public utility, securities, environmental and intellectual property.

David's career has spanned an exceptionally wide legal spectrum, endowing him with a virtually unmatched diversity of experience that has led to successful and creative results for his clients. He has equivalent experience practicing before the courts and administrative agencies in both New Jersey and New York. He lectures regularly on New York and New Jersey family law, foreclosures, judgment enforcement and other issues.

David started his career in 1980 at one of Manhattan's largest law firms, rising to partner and co-administrator of that firm's litigation and matrimonial departments. In early 1994, he joined Bressler, where he has been a Principal for over 25 years. Over his career, he has represented celebrity entertainers, professional athletes, corporate CEOs, authors, bankers, physicians, lawyers, accountants, public utilities, artists, financial institutions, bankruptcy committees and trustees.

David has litigated numerous and well known cases at the trial and appellate level, many involving large stakes or unique issues. They include:

  • Groundbreaking cases involving condemnation of railroad rights-of-way by a large electric utility
  • Preservation of a nuclear generating plant's operating license in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident
  • Cases of first impression in family law, including equitable distribution of professional practices and insurance awards
  • Multi-million dollar insurance coverage matter
  • Comity granted to foreign judgments
  • Interstate enforcement of orders
  • Concerning grandparent visitation
  • Case of first impression in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey involving copyright law
  • Major decision on New York's statute of frauds
  • Partnership and intra-corporate disputes
  • Selection of the nation's largest bankruptcy proceedings

Considered a "lawyer's lawyer" and valued for his acuity of thought and analytical ability, David also regularly advises other law firms, and has acted as an expert on American law for foreign lawyers. Appointed as Special Master in major cases in the New York Supreme Court and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, David has presided over trials as Referee and has also performed private mediation and arbitration services. He has served as a regular Special Master in New York Supreme Court's renowned Commercial Division and currently functions as a neutral evaluator in the Supreme Court's matrimonial evaluation program and a member of the matrimonial advisory committee in New York County.

Of particular note, David served as Assistant Counsel for the New York Governor's Judicial Screening Committee; as Special Counsel for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee; as an Aide to New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne; and as an Adjunct Professor at Jersey City State College (now known as New Jersey City University). A prolific writer on a variety of substantive legal disciplines, he has authored articles published in New Jersey Lawyer, the New Jersey Law Journal and The Record, among many others.

Awards & Accolades

  • Selected to the list of Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent lawyers
  • Selected to the list of New York Metro Super Lawyers, 2006-2020

No aspect of this or any advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the award methodologies can be found here.

News & Insights

Articles & Publications

Associations & Organizations

Professional Affiliations

  • Member, New York County Lawyers Association
  • Special Master, Supreme Court of the State of New York
  • Member, Family Law Center at the University of Virginia School of Law
  • Member, Matrimonial Neutral Evaluation Panel of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

Education

  • University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1980
  • Princeton University, A.B., cum laude, 1977

Admissions

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York
  • 2020 Super Lawyers
  • 2018 Super Lawyers
  • 2017 Super Lawyers
  • 2016 Super Lawyers
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