“I GREW UP ON PERRY MASON,” admitted
Dave S. Hattem ’81, senior executive director,
general counsel, and corporate secretary for AXA
Equitable. “My idea of a lawyer was a trial lawyer.”
His journey from the courtroom to the C-suite
began in Queens, where he grew up. The youngest
of four children, Hattem attended New York City’s
public schools and went on to Hunter College
before enrolling at Brooklyn Law School, where
he served as managing editor of the Brooklyn Law
Review, was a member of the Moot Court Honor
Society, and gained valuable experience in the
Manhattan District Attorney’s clinic.
After law school, Hattem went to work for a
Wall Street law firm to gain corporate litigation
experience, but after several years he recognized
law firm life was not for him. In 1985 he changed
direction and embarked on a distinguished career
as a federal prosecutor with the Eastern District
of New York. Hattem was first appointed as an
Assistant United States Attorney and went on
to become acting chief and deputy chief of the
criminal division.
Hattem handled high-profile bank robberies and white-collar
crime cases, including an 18-month federal investigation that led to
the seizure of 75,000 counterfeit prints, purportedly produced by
Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miró.
“There were no guns or drugs involved,” Hattem said. “To prove
the case, we had paper and images spread on the table. There
was a Long Island grandmother, her two daughters, and even a
granddaughter involved in the operations.”
After almost a decade as a federal prosecutor in one of the
most active federal courts in the nation, Hattem decided it was time
for a change.
He shifted gears in 1994 and joined the New York office of AXA
Equitable, a 160-year-old French holding company for a group of
international insurance and financial-services companies, including
AXA Equitable Financial Services, as head of litigation. Hattem
became deputy general counsel in 2004, and then general counsel
in 2010. In December 2017, he was elected chair of the board of
directors of Life Insurance Council of New York, the domestic trade
association representing the life insurance industry. Today, he is also
a member of AXA Equitable Holdings’ management committee. Hattem oversees AXA Equitable Holdings’ law departments, including
compliance and government relations. He is also responsible for the
corporate secretary’s functions, and helping the company navigate the
legal and regulatory environment to achieve its strategic goals.
Today, AXA Equitable is publicly traded on the New York Stock
Exchange after an initial public offering last year; the company, said
Hattem, now has the feel of a startup—but one whose mission is
to have a positive impact on individuals and communities. “We’re
certainly in the business of making money—we’re entrusted with
$600 billion in assets under management through our two principal
subsidiaries—but we have a larger responsibility as well,” he said.
For example, AXA Hearts in Action teams AXA employees with
local nonprofits to spearhead initiatives and projects involving
environmental sustainability, disaster preparedness, accident
prevention, financial education, and at-risk youth.
“My advice to younger lawyers is this,” said Hattem, reflecting
on the trajectory of his career. “Be flexible when opportunities arise
and make the best of them. Work hard and be the person who can be
counted on to get the job done. Also, stay positive. It helps one get
through the twists and turns in life, and it certainly [makes you] a lot
more fun to be around.”
—by Elaine Friedman