Luzerne County lawyer David E. Schwager, a partner in the Wilkes-Barre law firm of Chariton, Schwager & Malak, is president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Schwager has an extensive history of leadership within the organized bar.
He is completing his current term as PBA president-elect. During 2018-19, Schwager served as the association’s vice president. From 2013 to 2016, Schwager served three one-year terms as PBA treasurer and as chair of the PBA Finance Committee and PBA Investment Committee.
From 2010 until 2013, Schwager was a PBA zone governor, representing the interests of lawyer members in Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.
During 2018 to 2019, he was chair of the PBA Non-Dues Revenue Task Force and is co-vice chair and past chair of the PBA Planning Committee. He is a past chair of the PBA Bylaws Committee, PBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, PBA Financing of Real Estate Committee, PBA Real Estate Taxation Committee and the PBA Statutory Law Committee.
Schwager recently served on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the PBA. He is a Life Fellow of the foundation.
From 2012 to 2018, Schwager was a member of the Board of Directors of PBI (Pennsylvania Bar Institute), which provides continuing legal education to lawyers and judges.
Schwager was the 2017-18 chair of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The mission of the Disciplinary Board is to protect the public, maintain the integrity of the legal profession and safeguard the reputation of the courts.
He served as chair of the Third Circuit Bankruptcy Judge Merit Selection Committee and was a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Lawyers’ Assessment Committee and Investment Advisory Board and the Middle District Bankruptcy Court Rules Committee
He is a past vice chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Committee. He is a past treasurer of the Middle District (PA) Bankruptcy Bar Association and a past member of the executive committee of the Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association and is a past president of its Young Lawyers Division.
In 2018, Schwager was named a fellow of The American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Following a rigorous screening process, lawyers are elected to fellowship for outstanding legal ability, experience and high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice of real estate law.
Schwager’s practice focuses on real estate transactions and litigation, title insurance, real estate taxation, zoning and land use, business law, commercial litigation, municipal law and creditors’ rights. Named a “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer” by Philadelphia Magazine every year since 2010 and “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell, he is a member of the Advisory Committee on Real Property Law of the Joint State Government Commission of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
A past assistant district attorney for Luzerne County, Schwager is chair of the Kingston Borough Zoning Hearing Board and an assistant Luzerne County solicitor and has represented various municipal authorities and municipalities.
Schwager serves as president of the S.J. Strauss Housing Foundation and treasurer of Ecumenical Enterprises Inc. He is a member of the board of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, Greater Wilkes-Barre Growth Partnership, Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund and Martha Lloyd Community Services in Troy, Pennsylvania. He is a past president of the Jewish Community Center of Wyoming Valley, Temple Israel of Wilkes-Barre, the S.J. Strauss Lodge of B’nai B’rith and the Wyoming Seminary Alumni Association. He served as chair of the United Hebrew Institute School Board and the 2007 Jewish Federation campaign.
Schwager is a graduate of Lafayette College and Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University. He served on the executive committee of the Lafayette College Alumni Association and on the board of the General Alumni Association of The Dickinson School of Law of Pennsylvania State University. He is admitted to practice law in all of the state courts of Pennsylvania as well as the United States District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.