David E. Schwager has been appointed chair of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania effective April 1, 2017.
Schwager, who has practiced law for 28 years and is a partner at the law firm of Chariton, Schwager & Malak in Wilkes-Barre, has served on the board since 2012, most recently as vice chair.
The Disciplinary Board was created by the Supreme Court in 1972 to review conduct and assure compliance by all attorneys to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct. The board assists the Supreme Court in the licensing and discipline of attorneys in Pennsylvania. Its mission is to protect the general public, maintain a high standard of integrity in the legal profession and safeguard the reputation of the courts of Pennsylvania.
Disciplinary Board members, which include 11 attorneys and two non-lawyers from across the Commonwealth, meet regularly to decide cases, policies and board administrative matters. All members serve as unpaid volunteers.
“It is humbling to receive the Supreme Court’s appointment to serve as chair of the Disciplinary Board,” said Schwager. “You realize what a tremendous responsibility the board, as an arm of our Supreme Court, has in protecting the public from unscrupulous attorneys and in preserving the integrity of the bar and of our legal system. It is gratifying to serve on the board and work with some of the finest professionals in Pennsylvania.”
Schwager’s law practice focuses on real estate, title insurance, real estate taxation, business law, commercial litigation, municipal law and creditors’ rights. He is the treasurer of the Middle District (PA) Bankruptcy Bar Association, a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and is a life fellow and member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation. Schwager serves on the Executive Committee of the Luzerne County Bar Association and is a past president of the Luzerne County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.
Schwager serves as treasurer of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA); chair of the PBA Strategic Planning, Finance and Investment Committee; and vice-chair of the Bylaws Committee. He has served the PBA in numerous roles in the past and is currently a member of the PBA House of Delegates.
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. He is treasurer of Ecumenical Enterprises, Inc.; president of the B’nai B’rith Apartments Housing Foundation; and a member of the boards of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry and the Greater Wilkes-Barre Growth Partnership.
Schwager 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 Jewish Federation campaign.
He has been named a “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer” by Philadelphia Magazine every year since 2010.
Schwager is a graduate of Lafayette College and Penn State Dickinson Law. He is admitted to practice law in of Pennsylvania as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
For more information about the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, visit the board’s website at www.padisciplinaryboard.org.
# # #
Media contact: Julia Frankston-Morris, Board Secretary, 717-231-3380 or padboard.media@pacourts.us