David Swartz

David A. Swartz is a commercial real estate transactional attorney and tenured partner at Crosbie Gliner Schiffman Southard & Swanson LLP (CGS3). His current CGS3 profile states that he advises across leasing, financing, acquisitions and dispositions, operations, and risk management for a range of real estate asset types including hotels, multifamily, commercial, retail, and industrial properties.

Swartz began his legal career at Allen Matkins. He later spent 11 years as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Arden Realty Inc., a publicly traded REIT. At Arden, he created and led the company’s legal and risk-management departments, managed and negotiated more than $6 billion in real estate transactions, and was involved in Arden’s acquisition by General Electric Capital Corporation.

After Arden, Swartz held executive-level and general counsel roles at Safco Capital, a Los Angeles real estate investment firm focused on retail properties, and Latitude Management Real Estate Investors, a Beverly Hills private real estate fund manager. Before joining CGS3 in 2016, he was a partner at Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP.

Swartz holds a J.D. from UCLA School of Law and a B.S. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He is admitted to practice in California and was recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Real Estate Law in 2025 and 2026.

• No verified evidence was found that Swartz is currently an angel investor in seed-stage technology startups; the public record supports a commercial real estate legal and former real estate investment-management profile.
• Through his prior Latitude Management Real Estate Investors role, his relevant investment exposure was commercial real estate debt, not venture equity. Latitude described its focus as short-term, floating-rate bridge loans for value-add and transitional properties in sustainable U.S. growth markets.
• Latitude/LMREI stated that it underwrote transactions “bottom-up through an equity owners’ lens,” with emphasis on aligned interests and a clear exit strategy.
• Latitude/LMREI targeted middle-market bridge loans to experienced sponsors whose business plans could increase operating income through value-add capital improvements, leasing strategies, and active asset management.
• The publicly stated Latitude parameters included first trust deed or senior secured mortgage finance, nationwide lending, $5 million to $40 million loan amounts, terms of 2 to 5 years, and leverage up to 85% LTC for multifamily, 80% for office/industrial/retail, and 75% for hospitality.
• Swartz’s current legal practice centers on commercial real estate transactions, including leasing, financing, acquisitions, dispositions, and risk management.