David J. Creagan Partner

David Creagan brings a wealth of international and cross-cultural experience to his law practice. Having worked, traveled and studied in numerous countries in Europe and Latin America, David has attained high levels of proficiency in several foreign languages. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and conversant in Italian. He is also able to communicate in Portuguese and Swedish.

In his reinsurance practice, David has represented reinsurers and ceding companies in litigation and arbitrations involving varied claims under treaty, facultative and finite risk reinsurance contracts.  He has first-chair experience in arbitration hearings in the United States and in Bermuda, some of which involved taking discovery abroad.

In his commercial litigation practice, David has represented clients in industries as diverse as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, oil and gas, railroads, manufacturing, insurance, and finance. He has helped clients reach successful outcomes in a number of representations that have required gathering evidence in foreign jurisdictions, where local law and rules differ substantially from American norms, and where U.S. law and litigation practices are not well understood. In some cases, David has taken and defended depositions in non-U.S. jurisdictions pursuant to foreign rules.

In addition to his arbitration and litigation practice, David has assisted European and Latin American companies in contract drafting and review, and in negotiating commercial terms with companies in the U.S.

David has been first chair trial counsel in federal and state courts and in AAA and ARIAS arbitrations, and has argued and won cases on appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He also has experience in international arbitration and litigation, including taking and coordinating discovery abroad.  

Before practicing law, David was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State for nine years, serving at United States embassies abroad and as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. He is a recipient of the Department of State's Superior Honor Award.

David is an arbitrator in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas mandatory arbitration program and a volunteer mediator in the Philadelphia Bar Association's Lawyer-Client Fee Disputes Program.

During law school, David was Executive Editor of the Virginia Law Review.

Recognition & Involvement

David is an elected member of the Borough Council of Swarthmore, Pa.  He will serve a four-year term.

He has been AV® rated by the Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating system.

David was previously President of A Better Chance (ABC) Strath Haven, Inc., a local chapter of the national organization whose mission is to provide superior secondary school educational opportunities to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. David also served on the Board of Directors of the Swarthmore Community Center, Inc. and was a basketball coach for the Swarthmore Recreation Association.