In 1913 he defended Cecil Chesterton in the libel trial over his coverage of the Marconi scandal, along with Ernest Wild KC. In opposition was "as formidable a team as ever conducted a prosecution" – Edward Carson, later Baron Carson, F. E. Smith, later the Earl of Birkenhead, and Richard Muir.Fay (1938) p.28 The allegations by Chesterton were so extreme that a criminal libel case was launched. Chesterton lost, but the case brought Swift's name to the attention of London solicitors.Fay (1938) p.29
