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E. David Chanin

David Chanin is Of Counsel to the Firm and a member of the Litigation Department. He has over 30 years experience litigating complex business and tort matters, resolving disputes to minimize client risk. His practice includes representation of large corporations, closely-held businesses, insurers and individuals in:

  • contract and business tort disputes;
  • merger and acquisition litigation;
  • out-of-court workouts, bankruptcy litigation and on official and ad hoc creditors’ committees;
  • insurance industry litigation arising out of general agency disputes, agent terminations, first-party coverage, ERISA and bad faith claims under life, health and disability policies;
  • security companies in large loss, complex fire and theft litigation, and business advice;
  • aviation catastrophic loss litigation on behalf of rotary and fixed wing aircraft and component manufacturers;
  • commercial lessor-lessee disputes, zoning matters and tax assessment appeals; franchisor/franchisee litigation;
  • class actions;
  • advising businesses on insurance issues, contractual risk allocation and risk reduction;
  • alternative dispute resolution.

David has served as local counsel to national firms on cases in state and federal courts in Philadelphia and surrounding counties. He is an experienced mediator of business, contract, partnership, personal injury and property damage disputes.

Full Bio V-Card

E. David Chanin

Of Counsel
Litigation Department
215.523.5330
[email protected]

Education

University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D. 1980)
Trinity College (B.A. cum laude, Honors in English)
Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris (Level 2 French)

Practice Areas

Admissions

Pennsylvania
New Jersey
United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States

Professional Highlights

Recognition & Accomplishments

Active in the Philadelphia Bar Association, David recently received the Committee Chair of the Year Award for his service as Chair of the Business Litigation Committee.  He is a member of the Business Law Section’s Executive Committee, the State Civil Rules and Procedures Committee, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference.  He was formerly Chair of the Aviation Law Committee, Chair of the Bar Foundation Education Committee, and Secretary of the Mayor’s Financial Crisis Committee.  He is a frequent course planner and lecturer to business organizations and lawyers in Continuing Legal Education and other programs.  David served as an adjunct professor of law in the Temple University Law School LLM in Trial Advocacy program.  He recently was appointed by the Center for International Legal Studies as a visiting professor in law at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, in 2012.  David has served as a judge pro tem in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas since 1996, in the Court’s Commerce Program since 2001, and in the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program since its inception in 2008.

Prior Experience

Before joining Kleinbard, David started his legal career at Dechert LLP and was a founding partner of Tannenbaum & Chanin, LLP.

Representative Matters

  • Represented trustees of employee pension fund in Philadelphia Inquirer bankruptcy case, seeking successor liability and administrative claim for withdrawal liability.
  • Represented buyers as plaintiffs and defendants in multi-million dollar disputes arising out of asset acquisitions.
  • Represented Fortune 400 insurer to favorable judgment on multi-party life insurance coverage and bad faith claims arising out of agent termination.
  • Represented secured lenders, unsecured trade creditors, landlords, franchisors, insurers and nonprofits in out-of-court workouts and in bankruptcy court, on a range of matters including relief from stay litigation, allowance and valuation of secured and unsecured claims, asset valuation hearings, administrative claim disputes, assumption/rejection of executory contracts, defense of preference and fraudulent conveyance actions, setoff, corporate control, substantive consolidation, and Section 363 asset purchases.
  • Represented shopping center in successful Chapter 11 reorganization.
  • Represented large donors and evangelical organizations in defense of preference, fraudulent conveyance and unlawful promotion claims in largest eleemosynary Ponzi scheme bankruptcy case, participated in formation of ad hoc committee which developed successful claims resolution process.
  • Represented aircraft and component manufacturers in catastrophic loss cases, including cases involving claims in excess of $100,000,000; successfully litigated government contractor defense cases.
  • Represented lead security company and coordinated joint defense group in then the largest and most complex high-rise fire litigation in nation’s history.
  • Represented defendant company in $35 million insider theft case.
  • Represented arts-related nonprofit in out-of-court reorganization.
  • Mediated numerous disputes as court-appointed judge pro tem in Dispute Resolution Center and Commerce Program of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
  • Represented law firms as personal counsel in class actions and fire loss cases.

Community Activities

David was a long-time board member and officer of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and has assisted many artists and nonprofits in litigation, workouts, planning and board development.  He serves as a mentor to foreign students in the University of Pennsylvania Law School LLM program.  He has coached Little League and been active in his community association.

E. David Chanin

Of Counsel
Litigation Department
215.523.5330
[email protected]

David Chanin is Of Counsel to the Firm and a member of the Litigation Department. He has over 30 years experience litigating complex business and tort matters, resolving disputes to minimize client risk. His practice includes representation of large corporations, closely-held businesses, insurers and individuals in:

  • contract and business tort disputes;
  • merger and acquisition litigation;
  • out-of-court workouts, bankruptcy litigation and on official and ad hoc creditors’ committees;
  • insurance industry litigation arising out of general agency disputes, agent terminations, first-party coverage, ERISA and bad faith claims under life, health and disability policies;
  • security companies in large loss, complex fire and theft litigation, and business advice;
  • aviation catastrophic loss litigation on behalf of rotary and fixed wing aircraft and component manufacturers;
  • commercial lessor-lessee disputes, zoning matters and tax assessment appeals; franchisor/franchisee litigation;
  • class actions;
  • advising businesses on insurance issues, contractual risk allocation and risk reduction;
  • alternative dispute resolution.

David has served as local counsel to national firms on cases in state and federal courts in Philadelphia and surrounding counties. He is an experienced mediator of business, contract, partnership, personal injury and property damage disputes.

Representative Matters

  • Represented trustees of employee pension fund in Philadelphia Inquirer bankruptcy case, seeking successor liability and administrative claim for withdrawal liability.
  • Represented buyers as plaintiffs and defendants in multi-million dollar disputes arising out of asset acquisitions.
  • Represented Fortune 400 insurer to favorable judgment on multi-party life insurance coverage and bad faith claims arising out of agent termination.
  • Represented secured lenders, unsecured trade creditors, landlords, franchisors, insurers and nonprofits in out-of-court workouts and in bankruptcy court, on a range of matters including relief from stay litigation, allowance and valuation of secured and unsecured claims, asset valuation hearings, administrative claim disputes, assumption/rejection of executory contracts, defense of preference and fraudulent conveyance actions, setoff, corporate control, substantive consolidation, and Section 363 asset purchases.
  • Represented shopping center in successful Chapter 11 reorganization.
  • Represented large donors and evangelical organizations in defense of preference, fraudulent conveyance and unlawful promotion claims in largest eleemosynary Ponzi scheme bankruptcy case, participated in formation of ad hoc committee which developed successful claims resolution process.
  • Represented aircraft and component manufacturers in catastrophic loss cases, including cases involving claims in excess of $100,000,000; successfully litigated government contractor defense cases.
  • Represented lead security company and coordinated joint defense group in then the largest and most complex high-rise fire litigation in nation’s history.
  • Represented defendant company in $35 million insider theft case.
  • Represented arts-related nonprofit in out-of-court reorganization.
  • Mediated numerous disputes as court-appointed judge pro tem in Dispute Resolution Center and Commerce Program of the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.
  • Represented law firms as personal counsel in class actions and fire loss cases.

Education

University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D. 1980)
Trinity College (B.A. cum laude, Honors in English)
Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris (Level 2 French)

Admissions

Pennsylvania
New Jersey
United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States

Professional Highlights

Recognition & Accomplishments

Active in the Philadelphia Bar Association, David recently received the Committee Chair of the Year Award for his service as Chair of the Business Litigation Committee.  He is a member of the Business Law Section’s Executive Committee, the State Civil Rules and Procedures Committee, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference.  He was formerly Chair of the Aviation Law Committee, Chair of the Bar Foundation Education Committee, and Secretary of the Mayor’s Financial Crisis Committee.  He is a frequent course planner and lecturer to business organizations and lawyers in Continuing Legal Education and other programs.  David served as an adjunct professor of law in the Temple University Law School LLM in Trial Advocacy program.  He recently was appointed by the Center for International Legal Studies as a visiting professor in law at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, in 2012.  David has served as a judge pro tem in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas since 1996, in the Court’s Commerce Program since 2001, and in the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program since its inception in 2008.

Prior Experience

Before joining Kleinbard, David started his legal career at Dechert LLP and was a founding partner of Tannenbaum & Chanin, LLP.

Community Activities

David was a long-time board member and officer of Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts and has assisted many artists and nonprofits in litigation, workouts, planning and board development.  He serves as a mentor to foreign students in the University of Pennsylvania Law School LLM program.  He has coached Little League and been active in his community association.