Dan was born and raised in Oregon. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1967 as a U.S. History major, where he was President of the Associated Students and received the Robert Gordon Sproul Award as the outstanding male student. After serving as Vice President of the U.S. National Student Association and a Legislative Assistant to Congressman William Fitts Ryan of NY, he graduated from Berkeley Law School and pursued a career in private practice in Los Angeles with Morrison & Forester, LLP, among other firms, ultimately serving as EVP and General Counsel of Content Partners, LLC, an investment fund manager specializing in acquiring and managing cash generating entertainment assets for institutional investors.

During a forty-five-year career, Dan represented primarily entertainment industry clients on corporate, finance and large real estate matters. His clients included Lucasfilm, LLC, the Lucasfilm Foundation (for whom he negotiated the terms of a $230 million contribution to the USC School of Cinematic Arts), William Morris Agency and numerous financiers and other participants in entertainment industry ventures and initiatives. He also was part of the MoFo team that represented the Organizing Committee of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

In addition to his law practice, Dan served as President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the nation’s leading entertainment industry bar association; as a member of the board of Public Counsel (the nation’s largest provider of pro bono legal services); and as a member of the board of A+D Architecture and Design Museum in Los Angeles.

Dan and his wife, Patricia Amanda Parsons, moved to Rochester in 2017 to access the myriad of musical events and arts activities available and spend more time at their summer cottage on Sodus Bay.  Dan is a member of the Eastman School of Music National Council and conducts workshops for Eastman film composition and other students on legal and business aspects of the music industry through the Institute for Music Leadership.  Dan also serves on the board of the Empire Film and Media Ensemble, which provides opportunities for Eastman students to perform, compose, and promote music composed for films, television, and other visual media.  He  is also taking jazz piano lessons.