Chariton & Malak - Wilkes Barre, PA

About the Firm

At Chariton & Malak, we believe that trust and mutual respect are key components in an attorney/client relationship. We endeavor to build trust and mutual respect into all of our client services. The attorneys and staff of Chariton & Malak strive to meet client needs in the most effective manner possible while also fostering a finely tuned working relationship.

Chariton & Malak is a full-service law firm devoted to general civil practice in all Pennsylvania and federal courts. Spanning five decades, the combined experience of our attorneys encompasses

• business and personal litigation
• real estate and business transactions
• zoning and land use
• municipal law
• tax planning
• creditors' rights
• estate planning and administration

The members of our firm are knowledgeable and accomplished. Our attorneys have acquired extensive experience in their areas of concentration. We use our strengths to our clients' best advantage.

We are a law firm planted firmly in tradition, yet innovative in our thinking. We value history and past successes while always looking toward the future.

Our attorneys are dedicated to their profession, clients and community. We volunteer our time, knowledge and services to a wide variety of organizations. We hold leadership positions with the organized bar.

Clients of our law firm are diverse and include individuals, businesses and corporations. From our backyard in Wilkes-Barre to points around the country and abroad, Chariton & Malak represents clients' interests that span the globe.

Chariton & Malak represents high wealth individuals by assisting in their trust and estate planning and administration. We provide legal assistance and counsel in a number of areas affecting their tax, real estate, business, personal and financial interests.

We also advise large and small businesses and individual entrepreneurs in a wide range of business transactions including

• business formations
• mergers, acquisitions, and sales
• loans and bond financings
• creditors' rights issues
• antitrust litigation
• labor and employment law
• other general commercial matters

Through this broad scope of practice, our litigators engage in all aspects of trial and appellate practice, from county court to The United States Supreme Court, as well as practice before government agencies.

Being pragmatists as well as advocates, we also counsel clients on strategies to reduce the risk of costly litigation.

The attorneys of Chariton & Malak are proud of the high regard our peers have for us. The esteem accorded to us by other lawyers helped lead to our inclusion in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and our firm receiving the highest peer review rating available, a testament to the fact that we are ranked at the highest level of professional excellence.

History of the Firm

The law practice of Louis Shaffer spanned over 50 years and served as the foundation for the formation of Chariton & Malak. Attorney Shaffer was known for his impressive and distinctive legal career and for being an outstanding servant to his community. Attorney Shaffer's example provided the firm with a solid base of trust, respect and dedication. A recognized leader among his peers, Attorney Shaffer served as President of the Wilkes-Barre Law and Library Association, the Luzerne County Bar Association. Always taking his responsibilities seriously, Attorney Shaffer served his clients and his profession until his death in 1984.

Infallibly courteous, Lou Shaffer was a conciliator, a lawyer who recognized the fact that a lawyer's duty was not to tear people apart, but to bring them together. That sense of character, which Louis Shaffer carefully cultivated, is still a strong and integral part of the firm.

In 1999, after nearly two decades in practice with Attorney Shaffer, his son-in-law, Jerry B.Chariton (left), joined with David E. Schwager (center), an accomplished and respected attorney, to form the firm of Chariton & Schwager. Recently, Jeffrey J. Malak (right) has become partner, bringing his talent and expertise to the firm.

The firm is housed in a previously neglected, deteriorating historical building on South Main Street in downtown\ Wilkes-Barre, PA. As part of a continuing commitment to the community, in conjunction with a distinguished architect, this hidden jewel underwent an exhaustive restoration and renovation. The effort was recognized by the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry in 1992 when the restoration project was presented the prestigious "Pride of Place" Award. The Wyoming Historical and Geological Society also recognized the rehabilitation of this structure in 1992 with an historic preservation award for adaptive reuse. Today the structure stands as a beacon of creativity and foresight in the downtown area.