David Benaim
At age seven, David Benaim’s family moved from Venezuela to South Florida in pursuit of the American Dream. Admiring his mother’s dedication to her nursing studies in pursuit of that dream, David chose pre-medicine as his major when he began his university studies a decade later. Halfway through college, he realized that medicine was not his path.
He determined that his interests lie in working with startups and that pursuing a career in law would give him the tools he needed. Admission to NSU Law set forth David’s plan to pursue law school his own way. “I wanted to dedicate time to my legal studies and simultaneously expand my network and work experiences. The flexibility of NSU Law’s part-time program allowed me to do just that.”
In his first year of law school, he worked with a boutique law firm in Boca Raton, focusing on business consultation, contract review, and estate planning. Joining forces with a friend, David also started BBR Marketing Solutions, a digital marketing company. “I figured that if want to help future clients with startups, the best thing to do was to put myself in their shoes.”
Although running a business and working full time presented additional challenges to the rigor of law study, David has maintained a solid academic performance at NSU Law. David is presently a board member for the NSU Law Fashion Law Society. He volunteers with several community organizations and most cherishes the help his fundraising for Forgotten Mom has provided underprivileged mothers. Through law school friends, David has also become politically active.
Working in a law firm permitted him to expand his networking directly with local practitioners. David recently changed jobs and is working with NSU Law alumnus and adjunct professor Ethan Wall and his firm, The Social Media Law Firm. David works side-by-side with Wall to provide social media compliance solutions to financial institutions, as well assist startups in multiple areas, from drafting and reviewing contracts to helping clients obtain trademark and copyright protection. In addition, David also works with Wall’s marketing company, Social Media Law and Order. Here, he works directly with attorneys to provide social media and digital marketing strategies while ensuring compliance with ethics rules.
“Social media plays a role in our everyday lives; whether you’re obtaining news or information or using it to promote and market a business. Every industry has different regulations that may apply to their use of social media, therefore it’s important to ensure compliance to avoid lawsuits or other regulatory risks,” says David.
David feels that he has found his place and hopes to remain with Wall’s firm after graduation. He advises prospective law students to “work around your schedule; do it your way and don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zones.” David believes that his approach allowed him to reduce his student debt, get the experience he needed, and expand his network to enable him to connect with the right mentors. For David Benaim, the American Dream is now a reality.