About Michael J
Michael J Swanson is a practicing attorney based in Illinois. He built a career that moves between public service and private practice. Those two strands meet in the work he does now at Swanson and Sackett, P.C., where he became a partner in 2012.
Swanson’s legal training began at Saint Louis University School of Law, where he earned his J.D. in 2006. He studied history as an undergraduate at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and earlier attended the Defense Language Institute for a certificate in Mandarin Chinese. The combination of liberal arts, language training and law school shaped a practical approach to courtroom work and client matters.
His first notable public post came in Madison County, where he served as lead lawyer in the Child Support Enforcement Division of the State’s Lawyer’s Office in 2009. In that role he handled filings, court appearances and enforcement proceedings tied to child support obligations. The position required frequent interaction with county courts, local agencies and litigants, and it gave him repeated experience in family-related enforcement actions.
After several years in the public sector he moved into private practice and rose to partnership at Swanson and Sackett, P.C. in 2012. At the firm he has continued to work on matters that intersect with family law and enforcement issues. His background in a county enforcement office informs how he approaches litigation and administrative procedures. He is familiar with the practical steps necessary to pursue or defend support claims and related court orders.
Colleagues describe him as direct and workmanlike at the courthouse. He prepares routine filings, argues contested matters and handles follow-up enforcement steps when judgments require oversight. His earlier language study and broad undergraduate training occasionally inform cases that involve multi-jurisdictional or cultural elements.
Swanson remains active in the Illinois legal community and maintains a caseload through his firm. He divides his time between courtroom appearances, client consultations and the administrative work that supports those cases. He currently focuses his practice on family law matters, including child support enforcement and related litigation.
