Michael A. Schwartz Appointed as Commissioner to the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission by Governor Tom Wolf
Michael A. Schwartz, partner, co-chair of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department and chair of the White Collar Litigation and Investigations Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton LLP, has been appointed as one of seven commissioners to the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission by Governor Tom Wolf.
The Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission is an independent state agency charged with the responsibility of enforcing the Ethics Act. The Ethics Act and various provisions of the Ethics Act applies to public officials and employees, including candidates and nominees for public office. The Ethics Commission's responsibilities under the Ethics Act include rendering advisory opinions regarding the Ethics Act, enforcing the Ethics Act as it relates to the filing of statements of financial interests forms, investigating alleged violations of the Ethics Act and issuing decisions in relation to such investigations.
Mr. Schwartz focuses his practice in the areas of criminal defense and counseling, internal corporate investigations, corporate compliance programs, corporate monitorships and First Amendment matters. Mr. Schwartz serves on the firm’s Professional Responsibility Committee.
Prior to joining Pepper in 2008, Mr. Schwartz headed the Corruption, Civil Rights, Labor and Tax Fraud unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for approximately 14 years, he successfully prosecuted some of the region’s highest-profile corruption cases, including the electronic surveillance investigation during former Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street’s administration and the corruption prosecutions of former City Treasurer Corey Kemp and former City Councilman Richard Mariano.