Chariton, Schwager & Malak - Listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers


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Meet Attorney
David E. Schwager

Areas of Concentration:
Real Estate
Title Insurance
Land Use & Zoning
Creditors' Rights
Business and Corporate Law
Commercial Litigation
Estate Administration
Civil Trial Practice
General Civil Litigation

David E. Schwager is a partner of Chariton, Schwager & Malak. Listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, Mr. Schwager maintains an active general business and transactional practice with particular emphasis in the areas of real estate, mortgage foreclosure and creditors' rights, business formation and governance, and business litigation. He has been elected a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Real Estate Lawyers. Mr. Schwager has been named a Super Lawyer each year since 2010. Mr. Schwager currently serves as the 126th president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He maintains an active general business and transactional practice with particular emphasis in the areas of real estate, property tax assessment appeals, mortgage foreclosure and creditors' rights, business formation and governance, and business litigation. Mr. Schwager is admitted to practice before:

- All Pennsylvania courts
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Supreme Court of the United States

David E. Schwager

He has been named a “Super Lawyer” by the Philadelphia Magazine every year since 2010, the only real estate practitioner in Northeastern Pennsylvania to receive that recognition.

Mr. Schwager has an “AV Rating” from Martindale-Hubbell and is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. An “AV Rating” is the organization’s highest honor, and is bestowed only on those who have reached the height of professional excellence. Click here to see his Martindale-Hubbell® Rating.

In 2018, Schwager was elected as a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL). ACREL is a nonprofit association of lawyers established in 1978. Its members are elected to the College by demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience as real estate attornyes. All ACREL members have made substantial contributions to the field of real estate law through writing, teaching and bar leadership activities.

Schwager has served as a member of Pennsylvania’s Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Real Property Law. This is a standing group of attorneys and judges from across the Commonwealth who assist the General Assembly by recommending improvements to Pennsylvania’s laws dealing with real property and related matters.

Mr. Schwager is a past chair of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates, treasurer and director of the Middle District Bankruptcy Bar Association, and the Wilkes-Barre Law & Library Association (Luzerne County Bar Association), where he is the former Young Lawyer Division Chair and a member of the executive committee.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania appointed Mr. Schwager to the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and in 2017 named him its chair. The Board is dedicated to protecting the public, maintaining the integrity of the legal profession, and safeguarding the reputation of the courts.

In 2016, Mr. Schwager had the distinction of being appointed chair of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals Bankruptcy Judge Merit Selection Committee.

Active in the organized bar and professional activities, Mr. Schwager also has served as:

- Life Fellow and member of the board of directors, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation
- Vice Chair, Pennsylvania Bar Association By Laws Committee
- Member, Middle District Bankruptcy Court Rules Committee
- Past Chair, Pennsylvania Bar Association Statutory Law Committee
- Past Chair, Pennsylvania Bar Association Financing of Real Estate Committee
- Past Vice Chair of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and Business Law Committees of the American Bar Association / Young Lawyers Division

Equally active in many civic and charitable undertakings, Mr. Schwager has served as:

- Board Member, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry
- Board Member, Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund
- Board Member, Greater Wilkes-Barre Growth Partnership
- Treasurer, Ecumenical Enterprises, Inc.
- Vice President, Ecumenical Enterprises Foundation
- Member, Executive Committee of the Lafayette College Alumni Association
- Member, Wyoming Seminary President's Council
- Past President, Wyoming Seminary Alumni Association
- Past Vice President, American Cancer Society
- Past Vice President, Greater Wilkes-Barre Jaycees
- Past Campaign Co-Chair, Osterhout Free Library
- Past Officer and Director, Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority
- Past Director, Junior Leadership Wilkes-Barre
- Past President, Temple Israel
- Past President, Jewish Community Center of Wyoming Valley
- Past President, S.J. Strauss Lodge of B'nai B'rith
- Chairman of the Board, United Hebrew Institute
- President, B'nai B'rith Apartments Foundation Board
- Chairman, 2007 Wilkes-Barre Jewish Federation Annual Campaign
- Past Director, Penns Woods Council of Girl Scouts of America
- Solicitor, District 16 Little League
- Solicitor, The Music Box Players, Swoyersville
- Solicitor, Northeast PA Scholastic Ice Hockey League

Mr. Schwager is a graduate of Lafayette College and The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University.

Email: des@csmlawoffices.com

138 South Main Street, Post Office Box 910 | Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703-0910
Telephone: 570.824.3511 | Fax: 570.824.3580 | palaw@charitonschwager.com
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