 After law school he practiced law with Heyman & Sizemore and, in April 1979, at the age of 28, became its youngest partner to that date.He practiced law in Atlanta until December 31, 1983, when he resigned to run for Congress.In 1984, with Robb Austin as his campaign manager, Swindall defeated five term Democratic congressman Elliott H. Levitas by six percentage points, an upset election considering Levitas was elected with relative ease since his first election in 1974.