David Abelman

David Abelman

Lecturer

BA, Brandeis University
JD, University of Chicago Law School

Biography

David Abelman is an attorney, strategic business partner, and operations leader, with 35+ years of experience.

David most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at DentaQuest, one of the nation’s largest oral health organizations. Prior to DentaQuest, David advanced through senior leadership and legal executive roles at Tufts Health Plan, a large Massachusetts-based managed care organization. As Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, he was responsible for day-to-day management of Legal, Compliance, and Fraud Prevention and Recovery functions. David also served as President and Executive Director of the Tufts Health Plan Foundation.

Previously held roles include Senior Legal Counsel at Fidelity Investments and Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Massachusetts where he focused on prosecuting health care fraud and other white-collar crimes.  David began his legal career with Nutter McClennen & Fish in Boston, where he served as junior partner.

David holds a JD with honors from University of Chicago Law School and a bachelor’s degree in Economics, summa cum laude, from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. David has served on a variety of industry boards, committees, and organizations, including Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Mass General Brigham Community Physicians, Marino Center for Integrative Health, and the Boston Bar Association’s Health Law Section and Health Law Continuing Legal Education Committee.

Profile Types
Faculty, Lecturers & Adjunct Professors, and Part-Time Faculty

View all profiles

Activities & Engagements

No upcoming activities or engagements.

Courses

LAW AM 893

Effective In-House Legal Counsel

3 credits

This course will introduce internationally-trained LLM students to the roles and responsibilities of in-house legal counsel. Students will investigate the skills and characteristics that contribute to successful and effective practice as an in-house counsel and explore the similarities and differences between in- house legal practice and outside legal practice. Topics covered during the course will include: the relationship between in-house counsel and his/her client; in-house counsel's role in adding value to his/her organization; advising and counseling clients; fact gathering and investigation; managing an in-house legal practice; selecting and managing outside counsel; and the ethical challenges of in-house counsel. This will be a hands-on course focused on practice skills development. In role plays, students will step into the shoes of in-house counsel to address a variety of situations in which an in- house counsel would be expected to act. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.

SPRG 2026: LAW AM 893 A1, Jan 12th to Apr 22nd 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 3 David Abelman