About David
David Schwager trained first as an undergraduate at Lafayette College, where he studied economics and government and earned his B.A. in 1984. He went on to Dickinson School of Law and received his J.D. in 1988. Those years set the stage for a career split between transactional work, bankruptcy matters and service in bar governance.
Early in his career Schwager joined the American Bar Association, taking up membership in 1984, and later became active in Pennsylvania’s legal institutions. He served as treasurer of the Middle District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Bar Association from 1997 until 2019, a long tenure that kept him close to developments in bankruptcy practice in the federal district. In 2017 he held the post of Chair of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, overseeing a body charged with lawyer discipline and fitness issues in the commonwealth.
His peers have recognized him in several ways. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Superlawyer by Philadelphia Magazine. He was elected a Fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers in 2018, reflecting a substantial record in real estate law among fellow practitioners. He also served as the 126th President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association for the 2020–2021 term, a role that placed him at the center of statewide bar leadership during a period of significant change in the profession.
Schwager’s resume shows a mixture of courtroom and advisory roles, and steady involvement in professional organizations. He remains a member of the American Bar Association and the Pennsylvania State Bar. Long service in the bankruptcy bar and a fellowship in a national real estate college point to dual strands of practice: transactional and insolvency work. His leadership on the Disciplinary Board signals familiarity with professional responsibility and regulatory processes.
In practice he has handled matters that touch on property, financing and creditor-debtor relations, and he has navigated ethical and disciplinary proceedings on the organizational side. Colleagues describe him as experienced in managing complex transactions and procedural issues. He practices in Pennsylvania, concentrating on real estate, bankruptcy and professional regulatory matters.
