David S. Mandel was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1959.  He obtained his A.B. degree, magna cum laude , from Brown University in 1982, studied at the London School of Economics in 1983, and received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1986.  He is admitted to practice law in Illinois, Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia.  He practiced law in Chicago before becoming an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Miami in the Southern District of Florida in 1989.  As a federal prosecutor, David tried numerous cases involving complex frauds, money laundering, as well as narcotics and arms trafficking violations.  In 1995, he joined the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he led the Miami Office's Corporate Investigations and Criminal Defense (CICD) Practice Group.

David opened his own practice in 1997 and is the Managing Partner of Mandel & Mandel LLP.  David currently handles a wide array of complex commercial disputes, arbitrations and white collar criminal defense matters.  He is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association and former Chairman of the Federal Court and International Law Committees of the Dade County Bar Association.  He is active in community affairs and formerly served as the President of Foster Care Review, an organization devoted to assisting the judicial administration of foster children.  David is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London, England and a member of the National Association of Federal Equity Receivers.  He is also a member of The Wilson Council at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.