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David J. Lehman

David Lehman concentrates in providing corporate, business and tax counseling to privately-held companies, including representing clients in transactions involving equity and debt financing, formation and start-up, venture capital, sales, mergers and acquisitions, technology licensing, and information technology. David has experience in structuring transactions, including joint ventures, partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations. David often represents technology clients beginning at their earliest stages, and assists them through critical periods of growth, and in their ultimate exit. David also has extensive experience in the aspects of real estate transactions, including financing, leasing, development, purchasing and selling real estate.

David is an active member of the K&L Gates artificial intelligence initiative.

David has lectured extensively, including at Carnegie Mellon University, on various topics, including legal issues faced by entrepreneurs in start-ups enterprises and joint ventures. David has also taught courses at Carnegie Mellon University in Law & Public Policy.

David has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the 2003 through 2024 editions in the area of corporate law and mergers and acquisitions law. He has also been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for his professional achievement. David wrote a published article “Strategic Partnerships – Considerations for Growth Companies.”

David is a frequent speaker and author on such topics as strategic licensing, private equity, corporate formation, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and joint venture partnerships. Recent speaking engagements include:

  • National Business Institute – “Partnerships from Start to Finish”, Faculty
  • K&L Gates – “Venture Capital Investment”, Faculty
  • Pennsylvania Bar Institute – “Mergers and Acquisitions”, Faculty

David is co-founder of the StartSmart Series in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University's Project Olympus and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law's Innovation Practice Institute, including being the featured presenter for the following lectures:

  • Maximizing Value in the Sale of a Company
  • Start-Up Capital Pitfalls, and the Impact of the JOBS Act
  • Understanding Investment Securities for Start-ups
  • Structuring and Leveraging "Partnering" Arrangements
  • Employment/Employee Equity Maters
  • Taking Money from Friends and Family: Avoiding the Pitfall
  • Structuring Start-ups and Related Legal Roadmaps
  • Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® as “Lawyer of the Year” for Corporate Law in Pittsburgh, 2025
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in Pittsburgh
    • Venture Capital Law, 2021-2025
    • Mergers and Acquisitions Law, 2020-2025
    • Corporate Law, 2006-2025
  • American Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Board President, City Charter High School
  • Board member, August Wilson African American Cultural Center
  • Member of the Board of Directors of Pittsburgh Technology Council
  • Member of the Board of Advisors for the Carnegie Mellon University Dietrich School
  • Mr. Lehman is a former member of the Board of Directors of 3 Rivers Connect (including Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of Nominating Committee and Audit Committee), a former member of the Board of Directors of the MIT Enterprise Forum and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, and a former Director and Officer of Housing Opportunities, Inc.
  • Former Board member, Pennsylvania Economy League
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