Catherine M. Swafford

Catherine Swafford is a partner in the trust, estate and inheritance disputes team in the San Diego office of the international law firm, Withersworldwide. She practices exclusively in trust, estate, conservatorship, elder abuse, and fiduciary litigation. Ms. Swafford’s practice includes representing clients in will and trust contests; elder abuse actions; breach of fiduciary duty and accounting cases; conservatorships; intestacy and heirship disputes; contract to make a will disputes; creditor claim disputes; and related litigation and administration matters brought under the California Probate Code. She has extensive experience litigating cases from the initial stage of filing a petition through discovery, including depositions, and finally through mediations, trial, and post-judgment.

Ms. Swafford joined Withersworldwide in 2015. She received her J.D., cum laude, from Pepperdine University School of Law and her BA, cum laude, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Actively involved in the legal community, Ms. Swafford serves on the Board of Directors of the Probate Attorneys of San Diego (PASD), where she is the Chair of the Education Committee. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of San Diego, where she is Programs Chair and Vice President. Ms. Swafford also serves as court-appointed counsel for the San Diego Probate Court. She is a frequent speaker in the community on a wide range of topics. Ms. Swafford is also a contributing author of numerous publications, including CEB Practitioner™ attorney-drafted templates; the Litigation Alert in the California Trusts & Estates Quarterly; the California Decedent Estate Practice Guide; the California Civil Practice - Probate & Trust Proceedings Practice Guide; and the California Code of Probate Forms book.