Mark D. Schwartz was raised in Pittsburgh and since 1986 has lived in Bryn Mawr, Pa. His diverse 40-year law practice has included a host of cases covered in the public media. The majority of his present cases involve representing plaintiffs in civil rights matters.
Letter from Philadelphia
Having moved across the state from Pittsburgh in 1986, I now wonder what prompts me to read each edition of the Pittsburgh Quarterly from cover to cover. Sure, I subscribe to other magazines. The New Yorker is often hit or miss. My location notwithstanding, I can’t relate to “The Main Line Times.” Reading “Philadelphia Magazine’ …
Judge Jeffrey Manning Broke the Mold
We lawyers who go to court participate in what amounts to a contact sport, choosing sides in an all-out adversary process. Too bad if the other side loses. Winner takes all. Justice done. Over and out. Judge Jeffrey Manning passed away this month. Back in the mid-1970s only 3 or 4 years out of law …
An Awkward Introduction to Cyril Wecht
Cyril Wecht’s recent death took me back decades to summer of 1978 and Carnegie Mellon University’s tennis courts. Two white guys dressed in tennis whites had finished playing and sat on the grass. In my early twenties and in law school, I was one of them. The other guy, I’ll refer to as “Tom,” was …
Broken Politics is Hardly Limited to Allegheny County
I agree with Editor Douglas Heuck’s piece entitled “The Broken Politics of Allegheny County.” I moved across the state in 1986 to the Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Mawr, in part because I was tired of the political scene in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County; not that it’s proven to be any better here. Obvious and commonly …
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The Studied Neglect of the Hill District
The dreariest part of a recent trip to Pittsburgh was not the memorial service I attended, but revisiting the Hill District. I’ve always felt a connection to the place, first referred to as “Jew’s Hill” during my grandparents time. Then with the great migration of blacks coming north after the Civil War, the named changed …
Brothers & Keepers?
Editor’s note: Between 1984 and 2019, attorney Mark Schwartz represented convicted felon Robert Wideman, ultimately securing a commutation of his sentence in 2019. This is his account of what transpired in the 35 years he dealt with Wideman and his famous older brother, the author of “Brothers and Keepers.” Over the past 40 years, I’ve …