University of Edinburgh
Swanson's documented background is rooted in Scotland, where he studied law and later practised in Glasgow, the country's largest city and a major center of commercial and financial services. Scottish law has a distinct legal system within the United Kingdom, and Glasgow was home to some of the country's leading commercial practices.
Swanson studied at the University of Edinburgh and received a Bachelor of Laws degree. Founded in 1582, the university is one of Scotland's oldest institutions and has long been a center of legal and scholarly education.
He was admitted to practise in Scotland in 1983, which marked his entry into the Scottish legal profession. His professional career then developed within Scotland's commercial legal sector.
Swanson reported that he worked with Maclay Murray & Spens from 1982 and became a partner in June 1987. Founded in Glasgow in 1871 by David Maclay, David Murray and John Spens, the firm was the first law practice in Scotland with a specifically commercial practice. By the time of its merger with Dentons, it was one of only a few remaining large independent Scottish firms, with offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London and more than 450 employees.
Swanson served as the firm's chief executive from 2003 to 2011 and remained a partner until May 2012. Maclay Murray & Spens combined a broad commercial practice with a national presence in Scotland, and its leadership role gave him responsibility for the firm's management during this period.
Law at Work was founded in 2001 as a specialist division of Maclay Murray & Spens and focused on employment and health and safety law. Swanson led a management buyout that separated the business from the parent firm, after which the new company was wholly owned by its management team. Swanson served as its chairman. In 2019 Marlowe plc, a London-based specialist services group focused on regulatory compliance and safety, acquired Law at Work for an initial consideration of £6.3 million, and Swanson remained its chairman.
