Sean is an officer and shareholder with YLAW, P.C. He joined the firm in March 2017 and has over twenty years of experience litigating in many areas of civil defense, including catastrophic personal injury, premises liability, trucking and transportation, employment, civil rights, insurance coverage and bad faith. Sean also has experience handling appeals and, most notably, argued before the New Mexico Supreme Court in Edward C. v. City of Albuquerque, 2010-NMSC-043, 148 N.M. 646, which saw the Court reverse the Court of Appeal’s application of ordinary negligence to a baseball leaving the field of play, thereby creating a modified “baseball rule” in New Mexico. He also handled the appeal in Haynes v. Presbyterian Healthcare Servs., 2016-NMCERT-004, following which the Court quashed its writ, thereby affirming a favorable ruling for the client. In addition, Sean argued before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ensey v. Ozzie’s Pipeline Padder, Inc., 446 F. App’x 977 (10th Cir. 2011), leading the Court to uphold a ruling that helped solidify a defense verdict at trial. He has also briefed or contributed to numerous other appeals, and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the category of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants.
Sean served on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Defense Lawyers’ Association for eleven years, including two consecutive years as president. He was also chair of the organization’s Amicus Committee, where he filed amicus briefs on the organization’s behalf in Spencer v. Barber, 2013-NMSC-010, and Snow v. Warren Power & Mach., Inc., 2015-NMSC-026. Sean was also involved with the University of New Mexico School of Law Alumni/ae Association for many years. He served as chair of the organization’s Law Scholarship Golf Classic and was instrumental in the growth of the event, which helps fund scholarships for students at the law school. Sean served as president of the Association from July 2016 to July 2018, during which the organization began giving the Alumni Promise Award, which honors a recent graduate who has contributed to the law school, its students, or its community.
Born and raised in Albuquerque, and a full-blooded Lobo, Sean spent a few years after law school practicing in the City of Brotherly Love; but he returned home to defend individuals and entities in need of excellent counsel and defense. Sean is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and plays golf when time permits. He can honestly say his only hole-in-one occurred in a foursome that included a United States District Court Judge! Sean also enjoys traveling, food, and a nice glass of wine; but more than anything, he loves spending time with his wife and stepson.
