David W. Maxey is a senior member of the Real Estate Practice Group. Under his leadership the department grew from a handful of real estate practitioners to a diverse group of lawyers who effectively represent developers as well as lenders, clients from across the country and abroad as well as locally. During his career, David has held a number of management responsibilities (including co-chair of the firm), but his principal commitment remains to provide high-quality service to a broad range of clients, whether in real estate or in other areas of practice.
Real Estate Financing. The firm has been historically strong in its representation of banks and other institutional lenders. David is a recognized authority on all aspects of real estate financing, having represented many construction and permanent lenders and written articles and lectured to professional groups and law students on real estate financing and related issues.
Developer Representation. David has represented developers for over 25 years. To this day, it is part of the departmental credo that to be a good lender's counsel involves knowing how to represent aggressively and successfully real estate developers, and vice versa. In the course of his work for developers, David has been actively involved in zoning and other permit work, in joint venture and partnership negotiations, in syndications, and in sophisticated lease negotiations. David regards the descriptive label developer as appropriate to attach to any party interested in the acquisition and development of real estate. For example, it was in his capacity as a developer's lawyer that David represented a major cultural institution in Philadelphia in assembling a site for its new performance hall; and in that same capacity he was called as an expert witness in a hotly contested landlord-tenant battle concerning the maintenance responsibility for a public parking garage.
International Practice. Of the many satisfying experiences in David's career, one that has brought him particular pleasure has been the representation of clients from abroad. He represented a French count and countess in a will dispute that went to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He has acted as counsel for several Swiss companies establishing manufacturing subsidiaries or sales offices in the United States; for a Swiss investment firm specializing in shopping centers; for Italian and French firms making reverse investments in the United States; and for the world's largest retail supplier of household furniture and furnishings, headquartered in Denmark and Sweden but with a major and expanding commitment to the North American market.
In General. David's extracurricular activities have included serving on the boards of several nonprofit corporations including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Library Company of Philadelphia. At present he is chairman of the board of the public library in the community in which he lives.
David has published articles on a variety of topics, including the fundamentals of draftsmanship (republished first by the ABA and more recently in a contracts casebook), on land speculation and agency relationships in 18th century Pennsylvania, on eccentric Quaker ministers during the post-colonial period, and on the translation of a distinguished early lawyer and judge, James Wilson. In 1991, he was awarded the Hughes-Gossett prize of the United States Supreme Court Historical Society for his article on James Wilson. As evidence of professional recognition, David is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.
David and his wife, Cathy, live in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. They are the parents of two children, Paul and Margaret.