William M. McSwain

William Miller McSwain is the Chief Federal Law Enforcement Officer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. On December 20, 2017, Atty McSwain was nominated by President Donald Trump and was subsequently reported favorably by the Committee on the Judiciary on March 15, 2018. The Senate then confirmed his nomination by Voice Vote on March 20, 2018. William M. McSwain was sworn into the office on April 6, 2018.

 

Education and Academic Honors 

William Miller McSwain is a cum laude graduate of Yale University, earning his undergraduate degree in Bachelor of Arts in Economics in May 1991. U.S. Attornet McSwain received his Juris Doctorate in Harvard Law School in June 2000 and has had several academic honors from Harvard Law School, including the George S. Leisure Award for Excellence in Advocacy, which was given to the Best Oralist in Ames Moot Court Competition in 2000, an award for being the winner of the Ames Moot Court Competition in 1999, and being the Editor of Harvard Law Review from 1998 to 2000.

 

U.S. Military Service, and Military Awards

Registered for selective service, William Miller McSwain has served the U.S. Military as a Lieutenant at the United States Marine Corps from 1993 to 1997, at the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in the Infantry and Ground Intelligence, and as Scout/Sniper Platoon Commander for 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in Camp Pendleton from 1995 to 1997. In his four years of service to the U.S. Military, U.S. Attorney McSwain has been granted various awards such as the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his service with the Scout/Sniper Platoon of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable (13th MEU-SOC) in the country of Jordan, the National Defense Service Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and the Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, all awarded to William M. McSwain in 1996. He has also received the General William E. Potts Award as a class honor graduate of the Military Intelligence Officer School in 1995, and honors from The Basic School (TBS) and Officer Candidate School (OCS), United States Marine Corps, in his graduation in 1994.

 

Legal Career

Before his enlistment to the military, United States Attorney McSwain first worked as an Investment Banking Financial Analyst at the former Alex. Brown & Sons Incorporated, now Deutsche Bank from 1991 to 1993. Three years after his service to the military, William Miller McSwain began his legal career as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, from 2000 to 2001. He worked on a variety of commercial litigation matters and was introduced to prosecuting white-collar cases.

In 2001, William M. McSwain worked as an Associate at the Dechert LLP for two years, before becoming an Assistant United States Attorney of the Criminal Division at the United States Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 2003. Prosecuting cases such as drug trafficking, various forms of fraud, embezzlement, violent crime, computer network intrusion, and money laundering, William McSwain’s practice focused on federal criminal cases.

Starting as an Associate at the Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in 2006, Attorney McSwain managed to become a Partner at the company in 2009. His work revolved mainly on internal investigations, defense of government investigations, criminal trial, and occasionally working on civil cases, and other white-collar matters. His private practice focused on representing corporations and individuals who face government allegations of wrongdoing.

 

Most Significant Litigated Matters 

One of his most significant litigated matters involved a nationally publicized case regarding the fate of the Ten Commandments on the façade of the Chester County Courthouse. William Miller McSwain managed to get a unanimous Third Circuit panel to dictate that the plaque was not an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, overturning the initial District Court decision. In 2004, he also served as the lead staff investigator and Executive Editor of the “Church Report” and worldwide examination of military interrogation techniques in the Global War on terror. William McSwain has lead and co-lead numerous cases on matters focusing on fraud, market manipulation allegations, drug felony, illegal firearm possession, and robbery, among others. In 2009, he led a massive internal investigation, defending against an SEC investigation.

 

Pro-Bono Services, and Honors and Awards

Throughout his career, William Miller McSwain had an active pro bono docket, which focused on protecting the constitutional rights of the underrepresented parties. In 2003, he was awarded the Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Award for his pro bono work on the case of Intel Corp. v. Hamidi. He also received a Harvard Law School Heyman Fellowship for federal government service from 2003 to 2006. In 2013, Mr. McSwain founded the Broad Street Ministry legal clinic, and in 2016, he received the Homeless Advocacy Project, Adopt-A-Shelter Award in recognition of his work. Additionally, he was awarded the Core Class of Leadership Philadelphia in 2010, and the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Award from 2013 to 2017.

 

Bar and Court Admissions

Working on several criminals, and civil cases, Atty McSwain has been admitted to practice in several courts, including the Pennsylvania State Courts since 2000, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern and Middle District of Pennsylvania since 2001 and 2012, respectively, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since 2001, and the U.S. Supreme Court since 2015. He is also an active member of the Pennsylvania State Bar Associations since 2000, with no lapses in membership in both Bar and Court Admissions.

 

Memberships

Several other memberships of William M. McSwain include the Harvard Law School Alumni Association of Greater Philadelphia, and the Yale Club of Philadelphia since 2000, the Yale Alumni Schools Committee since 2006, and the Yale Club of New York City since 2014. Furthermore, Will McSwain is a current Board Member of the Philadelphia Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society since 2011, and a member of the Broad Street Ministry at the Hospitality & Corporate Council since 2015. He was also a former Editorial Board Member of The Legal Intelligencer from 2014 to 2016 and at the University of Pennsylvania Law School American Inn of Court from 2013 to 2016.

 

Teachings

William Miller McSwain has occasionally taught as a guest lecturer at the Drexel Law School, discussing white-collar developments and defense strategies. He was once a guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, discussing trial closings at a trial skills workshop.

 

Current Jurisdiction

As the current United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Attorney McSwain, oversees the nation’s most populous districts and supervises approximately 300 attorneys and support personnel in the office.

 

Contact Details

Full Name: William Miller McSwain
District/State: Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Public email ID: usapae.usattorney@usdoj.gov

Philadelphia Branch Office

U.S. Attorney’s Office
615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

(215) 861-8200
Main

Allentown Branch Office

U.S. Attorney’s Office
504 W. Hamilton St.,
Allentown, PA

(215) 861-8540
Main

(215) 861-8618
Fax

Acting Public Affairs Officer

Michael Cavacini

(215) 861-8300
Main

Michael.Cavacini@usdoj.gov
Email

Delivery Service

Philadelphia Branch Office

U.S. Attorney’s Office
615 Chestnut Street, Suite 1250
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Allentown Branch Office

U.S. Attorney’s Office
504 W. Hamilton St., #3701
Allentown, PA 18101

 

Social Media Profiles of William M. McSwain

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Updated: June 27, 2020