James C. Schwartzman

Jim is the Chairman of the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Group. He has extensive experience representing and counseling lawyers, law firms and judges on ethics-related issues. He has trial experience in civil and criminal matters in most of the courts in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Jim is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and was a law clerk for the Honorable J. William Ditter, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has taught courses at the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute and Temple University School of Law. Appointed by Governor Tom Wolf in 2018, Jim served as a Judge on the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline and also as President Judge. He previously served as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board. He is a former Chairman of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Disciplinary Board, Continuing Legal Education Board and the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Board.

As published in Philadelphia magazine, Jim has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer from 2004 through 2021 by being selected by his peers as among the top 5 percent of lawyers in the Commonwealth. He was named one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania, and one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Philadelphia.

In addition, Jim has been selected by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Plaintiffs and Defendants Legal Malpractice Law and Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law from 2006 through 2021, and was named 2015 Philadelphia Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law Lawyer of the Year.

Jim also received the Villanova Law Alumni Association Award for Public Service in 2019.

Affiliations

• Independence Blue Cross, Board of Directors (retired)
• Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Board of Directors (Retired)
• Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers
• Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association
• American Trial Lawyers Association
• Philadelphia Bar Association
• Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law’s David F. and Constance B. Girard-DiCarlo Center for Ethics, Integrity and Compliance, Board of Directors
• Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, Past President Judge
• Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, Past Chair
• Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts Board, Past Chair
• Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board, Past Chair
• Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board, Past Chair

Recognition

As published in Philadelphia magazine, Jim has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since 2004  by being selected by his peers as among the top 5 percent of lawyers in the Commonwealth in the area of Professional Liability. He was named one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania, and one of the top 100 Super Lawyers in Philadelphia.

In addition, Jim has been selected by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Plaintiffs and Defendants Legal Malpractice Law and Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law from 2006 through 2021 and was named 2015 Philadelphia Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law Lawyer of the Year and the 2021 Philadelphia Legal Malpractice Law (Defendant) Lawyer of the Year.

Jim also received the Villanova Law Alumni Association Award for Public Service in 2019.

Education

• Villanova University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
• Washington University, A.B.

Bar Admissions

• Pennsylvania

Court Admissions

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Claims
• U.S. Tax Court