About Attorney David Swatland
David Swatland, Attorney At Law (Hawaii Island Associate)
cell phone: 510-703-1137 email: david@mwlawhawaii.com
David J. Swatland is an attorney licensed to practice in the State of Hawaiʻi and Federal District Court, District of Hawaiʻi. David started working for Attorney Margaret Wille in March 2017 as a legal assistant and upon passing the State of Hawaiʻi bar exam, began working full time with Margaret as a licensed attorney.
David’s interest in the law evolved over time. “I’ve always been fascinated with how the law works and at the same time, frustrated with how so many people seem to experience injustice in our “justice” system. It just took me a while to focus my efforts within the system rather than in the operational and policy arenas.”
He graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law’s in 2014, after going to law school while working full time.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, David worked for the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
David credits events he witnessed in courts and jails in California as the catalyst for his becoming a lawyer. “It was shocking to see the difference in how people represented by an attorney were treated, as opposed to those without an attorney, not just by the court but by the police, by the prison system, etc.
We have created a system where most everyone needs an attorney at some point just to get a fair shake in the process, much less the result.”
David is a twenty-seven-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, spending most of his career conducting or directing search and rescue, law enforcement, and environmental protection operations throughout the United States, Caribbean, and the Pacific Ocean Region.
After leaving the Coast Guard, David spent almost eight years working for the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Sanctuaries Program, protecting the natural and cultural resources of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as the Deputy and Acting Superintendent at Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.