Anne Swift

Senior Counsel

Anne Swift is Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward.

A litigator with experience at every level of the federal courts, Anne represented clients at litigation boutique Massey & Gail before joining Democracy Forward. She previously worked as an associate in the Washington office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and served as Special Counsel to the Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. She clerked for the Honorable James E. Graves, Jr. at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable Robert Pitman at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Anne maintained a commitment to pro bono throughout her time in private practice, including by litigating challenges to reproductive rights in federal trials and appeals courts; representing inmates at parole hearings through the D.C. Prisoners’ Project; and obtaining asylum for refugees from Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, and Kosovo. Anne is especially passionate about defending communities against anti-abortion legislation and related extremist policies. She served as president of the board of Avow, which works to secure unrestricted abortion access for every Texan, for three years.

Anne graduated with honors from The University of Texas Law School and holds a master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the same institution. While in law school, she was a member of the editorial board of the Texas Law Review, served as a Dean’s Fellow, and was president of the American Constitution Society. She previously worked as a crisis management consultant for several years.

Anne is a member of the Texas and the District of Columbia bars.