David W. Blass

Based in Washington, D.C. office, David Blass is a Partner in the Firm’s Investment Funds Practice. David is a leading regulatory lawyer in the funds industry and has advised on matters involving innovative registered funds products, Investment Advisers Act compliance, SEC examination and enforcement matters, and broker-dealer regulatory compliance.  He is uniquely qualified to provide strategic and regulatory advice on matters involving asset management  firms and broker-dealers. 

David has extensive knowledge of the regulatory requirements of the asset management industry having  served as General Counsel of the Investment Company Institute, the trade association for registered investment funds.  He also held senior roles for over a decade at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, most recently as Chief Counsel and Associate Director in the Division of Trading and Markets, where he oversaw broker-dealer regulation and large aspects of FINRA’s regulatory program.  David was the Associate General Counsel for the SEC where he was responsible for Dodd-Frank Act implementation, among many other programmatic areas.  He also held a senior role in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, leading the office regulating registered investment advisers, including advisers to private funds.

Chambers Global reports that clients say he is an “excellent regulatory lawyer” who is both “very knowledgeable and easy to work with.” David was notably named “Independent Counsel of the Year” by Fund Intelligence’s Mutual Fund Industry & ETF Awards in 2021.