In 1903 Benjamin Franklin Swisher opened a law office in Waterloo, Iowa. In 1922 Leo J. Cohrt joined the practice. Later, in 1930, Benjamin F. Swisher, Jr. joined the firm, which was then known as Swisher, Swisher & Cohrt. Benjamin Franklin Swisher’s son, Charles came to the firm in 1944. The Firm’s name became Swisher, Cohrt, and Swisher. In 1968, the current name, Swisher & Cohrt, was adopted. In 1973 the offices moved from the Waterloo Building to the top floor of the Waterloo Savings Bank Building. In 1983 the firm moved to its current location, the remodeled former west branch of the Waterloo Public Library. The Library building was one of two built in Waterloo in 1905 with grant money given by Andrew Carnegie. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Like the building that houses the firm, Swisher & Cohrt has a long and distinguished history within the community and the State of Iowa.