David Abell

Mr. Abell founded and presently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Avala. Mr. Abell is the managing partner and founder of Abell Law, Ltd. Co., a dedicated financial services law firm providing legal services to registered investment advisers, investment adviser representatives, broker dealers and registered representatives. Mr. Abell has devoted a significant portion of his practice towards representing investors in disputes with the securities industry (i.e., claims involving investor fraud, losses from lack of suitability, failure of supervision, churning and excessive fees).  Mr. Abell also serves as President of BreakSafe, LLC, a transition focused financial services marketing and support company for registered investment advisers and brokers.

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Mr. Abell has been a licensed attorney since 1994 and has provided legal services primarily as a securities, transactional and corporate governance counsel. Mr. Abell have represented both municipal and corporate issuers of securities in the capacity as bond, issuer, trustee and disclosure counsel. Mr. Abell has experience in venture capital and private equity financings including equity, convertible debt, and debt transactions. He has advised on over $10 billion in various M&A and funding transactions over the course of his career representing public, private, and governmental clients.

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Mr. Abell co-founded TriLumina Corp. in 2010 and served as its Chief Legal Counsel and Chief Strategy Officer.  He was instrumental in raising over $35 million in both equity and debt through several funding rounds from angel investors, venture capital and industry partners. TriLumina developed and manufactured the world’s fastest and most powerful semiconductor laser arrays designed for free space optical telecommunications and three-dimensional depth sensing illumination. At TriLumina, Mr. Abell was issued five U.S. patents (US-11405105-B2, US-11121770-B2, US-11075695-B2, US-10938476-B2 and US-10615871-B2) as a co-inventor of new laser-based technologies and has several patents pending relating to optical communications, semiconductor laser design and laser radar systems (known as light detection and ranging or “LiDAR”). Mr. Abell was known as a leader in the early development of flash LiDAR systems for autonomous vehicle and automotive Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) with TriLumina receiving accolades for top startup in the automotive and optical communications space both domestically and internationally.

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From 2000 through 2004, Mr. Abell served as in-house securities and corporate governance counsel with Texas Instruments Incorporated in its Dallas-based headquarters where he managed all public reporting (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, annual reports, and proxy statements) and developed the company’s internal procedures and associated disclosures in response to the then new Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Regulation FD. Prior to joining Texas Instruments, Mr. Abell practiced in the securities and corporate transactions department of the Dallas-based AmLaw 100 law firm, Locke Lord LLP (fka Locke Purnell Rain Harrel LLP and Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP). Mr. Abell is a member of and serves in various member capacities with the Public Investors Advocate Bar Association (PIABA) – the objectives of which are to promote fairness in applicable rules, dispute resolution and enforcement for investor claims against brokerage firms, RIAs, financial institutions, and their associates as well as others who sell investments or provide investment advice to the public. Mr. Abell received a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and business administration from Trinity University and earned a Juris Doctor from the Dedman School of Law at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.