Luzerne County Lawyer David E. Schwager to Serve as Vice President of Pennsylvania Bar Association

HARRISBURG (May 2, 2018) — Luzerne County lawyer David E. Schwager, a partner in the Wilkes-Barre law firm of Chariton, Schwager & Malak, will become vice president of the 26,000-member Pennsylvania Bar Association at the conclusion of the association’s Annual Meeting on May 11 in Hershey. He will become the association’s 2020-21 president.

Schwager is the immediate past 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 also served as chair of the Third Circuit Bankruptcy Judge Merit Selection Committee and a member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Lawyers’ Assessment Committee and Investment Advisory Board.

Schwager has a long history of leadership within the organized bar.

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 the PBA zone governor for Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. 

Schwager is a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the continuing legal education arm of the PBA, and the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the PBA. Schwager is a Life Fellow of the foundation. He serves as co-vice chair and past chair of the PBA Planning Committee. He is the current vice chair and is a past chair of the PBA Bylaws Committee. He is chair of the Non Dues Revenue Task Force and is a member of the Membership Engagement Blue Ribbon Panel and the Membership Development Committee. He is a past chair of the PBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and a past chair of its Financing of Real Estate Committee and Real Estate Taxation Committee. He also is a past chair of the PBA Statutory Law 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 the 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.

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 Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and 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 B’nai B’rith Apartments 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 and Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund. 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 The 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 the 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.  

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access to legal services; and serve the 26,000 lawyers who are members of the association.