David M. Van Atta

David M. Van Atta is widely regarded as one of California’s premier real estate attorneys. He is a partner in the San Francisco office of the national law firm of Womble Bond Dickinson.  He represents real estate clients throughout the State. 

Prior to joining Womble Bond Dickinson in 2026, he co-founded Hanna & Van Atta with the late John Hanna in 1993. Mr. Van Atta was previously a real estate partner at another global law firm based in San Francisco representing international companies in their purchase and development of properties in the United States. 

Mr. Van Atta’s practice encompasses acquisitions and financing of residential and commercial properties. He has worked on transactions involving office buildings, hotels and other resort properties. Since 1975 he has represented developers in all aspects of residential, commercial and mixed-use developments throughout the State.  As well, Mr. Van Atta has also formed and advised community associations and common interest development associations and has prepared subdivision documentation for master-planned residential developments, condominium projects, and mixed-use communities. Representative projects include Santana Row in San Jose, the Millennium Tower and The Four Seasons projects in San Francisco, the Main Street Cupertino project and the Harbor Bay Isle project in Alameda. He has worked with a number of owners associations over the years, assisting those associations in the process of amending and restating their governing documents to comply with current state laws and requirements. 

In addition, Mr. Van Atta has extensive experience in zoning, subdivision and other land use matters, and in this regard, he has appeared before local agencies as well as the California Department of Real Estate. 

Mr. Van Atta attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in political science and received a Bachelor of Arts. He then obtained his Juris Doctor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly, Hastings College of the Law) in 1969. Mr. Van Atta has been admitted to practice before all California state courts since 1970.

His professional endeavors has earned him recognition from his fellow professionals, including an AV Preeminent peer review rating through Martindale-Hubbell and for 22 years recognized in Super Lawyers 2005 – 2026 for his real estate practice. 

In addition to his legal practice, Dave has served as a law lecturer and adjunct professor, sharing his knowledge on real property and secured transactions with law students and practitioners. He is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and frequently speaks and writes on topics such as mixed-use development, community association law and recent developments in real estate law. Since 1980 he has been a co-author of “Hanna & Van Atta on California Common Interest Developments,” Thomson Reuters, 1980–2026.