John Swomley has been in private practice since leaving the Brooklyn Criminal Defense Division of the New York Legal Aid Society in 1992, where he cut his teeth as a public defender and quickly developed a reputation for unflinching advocacy. He is a renowned trial attorney known for his relentless approach to fighting on behalf of his clients. Concentrating in complex criminal defense and civil litigation, John has represented thousands of persons charged criminally and hundreds of persons in civil matters.

John has earned a reputation as a fierce, zealous litigator and is well-respected as one of the best trial attorneys in Massachusetts. He was awarded the Paul Liacos Mental Health Advocacy Award by the Committee for Public Counsel Services in recognition of his tireless advocacy on behalf of indigent defendants. In 2019, he was awarded the MACDL Clarence Gideon Award, presented annually by fellow criminal defense attorneys to recognize champions of the noblest principle that all persons shall stand equal before the law. Since 2005, John has consistently been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” as published in Boston Magazine. 

​John is a member of the murder panel, a group of lawyers qualified by the Committee for Public Counsel Services to represent indigent defendants in homicide prosecutions throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is also a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel of attorneys authorized to represent indigent defendants in U.S. District Court.
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From 1998-2001, John taught criminal trial advocacy in the Suffolk Defenders program. He trained student attorneys in trial skills and supervised them as they represented indigent defendants in District Court. He has trained attorneys in New York, New Hampshire, and Federally regarding “sexually dangerous person” (SDP) proceedings and has presented to the Massachusetts Association for the Treatment of Sex Abusers, the Innocence Project National Conference, and numerous universities and law schools in Massachusetts.