Jim Swanson represents state and local governments, corporations, and individuals in a general commercial and securities practice. He has handled cases involving municipal finance, derivatives, CDOs, Ponzi schemes, corporate tax, coastal land loss, environmental damage, industrial and environmental accidents, and a range of other subject areas. Jim’s efforts are recorded in over 100 reported decisions.
Jim is particularly known for his securities practice and has obtained multimillion-dollar judgments for his clients in jury and bench trials and commercial arbitrations.* Most recently, Jim was counsel to investors defrauded in R. Allen Stanford’s $7 billion Ponzi scheme in their lawsuit against the five banks that the investors allege aided and abetted or knowingly participated in the scheme. Settlements totaling $1.6 billion were reached with five bank defendants on the eve of trial in early 2023.*
In addition to his established securities practice, Jim is currently working on a series of cases involving coastal land loss and other forms of environmental damage for governmental entities, including the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and private landowners.
He also represents several commercial contractors in confidential international treaty arbitrations arising out of large-scale infrastructure and industrial development projects. Most recently, Jim and his team prosecuted bilateral investment treaty claims before a tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in London on behalf of a Turkish contractor against a North African nation for defaulting on housing and infrastructure contracts and won a substantial unanimous award from the ICC panel.*
While the majority of Jim’s practice is plaintiff-focused, he also represents defendants. Recently, this included the successful defense of a prominent New Orleans attorney at a major local law firm accused of legal malpractice. The case was dismissed on summary judgment in favor of Jim’s client.*
Chambers & Partners calls Jim “a terrific strategist” and “a strong, thoughtful, and tenacious trial lawyer” and clients praise him as being “intelligent, creative, and his legal applications are on point.”
Jim is a member of the Xavier University of Louisiana Board of Trustees, serving on the Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Investment Committee. Jim is also a member of both the Baylor College of Medicine’s President’s Circle and its Board of Advisors.
Jim is a Fellow of the American and Louisiana Bar Foundations and a member of the International Society of Barristers. Jim has been a regular faculty member of the Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) annual program Securities Litigation: From Investigation to Trial. He has taught at Loyola Law School and Tulane University.
Jim is a founding member of Fishman Haygood and served as Managing Partner of the firm from 2007 to 2019.
*Results may vary.
Updated Sep 2024
