Professor Keith Swisher joined Phoenix School of Law in 2009.  Professor Swisher teaches Professional Responsibility and Torts, and his scholarship interests include legal and judicial ethics and criminal law. Prior to PhoenixLaw, Professor Swisher was an Adjunct Professor at Arizona State University College of Law where he taught Legal Ethics/Professional Responsibility.  Professor Swisher also practiced law in Phoenix since 2005 with the firm Osborn Maledon.  He focused his practice on criminal defense, legal and judicial ethics, professional liability, and appeals.  Before joining Osborn Maledon, he was a judicial clerk for the Honorable William C. Canby of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Professor Swisher's blog can be found here (The Judicial Ethics Forum), and his most recent Articles, including recent writings on judicial discipline, judicial disqualification, and character and fitness inquiries, can be downloaded for free here (SSRN).

Professional Committees and Appointments.  Professor Swisher serves on the State Bar Professionalism Committee and was recently appointed to the Ethics Committee (more formally known as the Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct). In addition, Professor Swisher serves on the Editorial Boards of ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct (since 2008) and Arizona Attorney (since 2005).  Professor Swisher is also appointed to handle indigent criminal defendants' federal appeals. 

Educational Background.  Professor Swisher received his juris doctor from Arizona State University College of Law.  During law school, Professor Swisher served as an editor for the Arizona State Law Journal, and he worked with the United States Attorney's Office, Criminal Division, Arizona Justice Project, and the Office of the Federal Public Defender, Capital Habeas Unit.  Professor Swisher graduated Order of the Coif and first in his class; at graduation, Professor Swisher received the John S. Armstrong Law Prize, a faculty-selected award for the class valedictorian.  Professor Swisher also holds an LL.M. (Master of Laws) from Harvard Law School, and he served as an editor to the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.     

Personal Interests.  Professor Swisher balances the law with spending time with his family, especially his newborn sons, and friends.  He also plays guitar and drums.