- Presenter at the Columbus Bar Association and the Ohio Association for Justice Annual Convention
- Helped more than 100 clients navigate complex legal issues
- Chaired the Columbus Bar Association Common Pleas Court Committee for several years
- 2nd degree black belt in Kuk Sool Won
- Co-Chair American Association for Justice COVID-19 Business Interruption Litigation Task Force
- Appointed to the Ohio Supreme Court Civil Justice Program Fund Application Review Committee in 2020 and 2022
- Has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star
- The Best Lawyers in America®️️️️ & Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™️️️️ 2023 Honorees
Sean prides himself on taking cases that other firms have turned down.
This urge to help people began from a young age, when he was growing up in northeastern Ohio.
He attended The Ohio State University and began to plant his roots in Columbus. After obtaining his J.D. from Capital University Law School, he didn’t originally know that he wanted to go into personal injury law. In fact, Sean clerked at a midsize insurance defense firm one summer during law school.
That experience quickly taught him that he did not want to be working on the side of the insurance companies.
After law school, Sean held a clerkship with a trial court judge and discovered that he had a knack for plaintiff’s work.
Sean joined Cooper Elliott in 2014. He’s proud to be part of a team that is dedicated to defending good, honest people hurt by those who are careless or greedy – and one that values quality of cases over quantity.
“Good, honest people get hurt by those who are careless or greedy. For me, it’s the moment when I am able to help clients achieve peace of mind after they’ve endured such a hardship—that’s why I do what I do.”
An important component of that quality is making sure his clients are heard and helping them achieve justice in a way they never imagined possible. For example, Sean has achieved resolutions for his clients in several hazing cases that have made national news.
Sean represented the families in the tragic cases of Collin Wiant, who died due to a fraternity hazing ritual at Ohio University in 2018, and Stone Foltz, who was also a victim of a fatal hazing incident at Bowling Green University in 2021.
In addition to reaching significant resolutions for these heartbroken families, Sean and fellow attorney Rex Elliott worked with the Foltz and Wiant families to pass Collin’s Law, which made hazing a felony in Ohio and demanded more transparency about hazing incidents from universities and other institutions.
In 2023, Sean and Rex were awarded the J. Thomas Henrietta Distinguished Advocacy Award from the Ohio Association for Justice for their work in these cases.
Similarly, Sean represented the family of Bryan Galliher, who was murdered in 2016 by a neighbor who was able to buy a black powder gun from Cabela’s despite the perpetrator’s admission that he was a convicted felon. The family sued Cabela’s for the illegal sale, which led not only to a seven-figure resolution, but also led to new policies for Cabela’s and its parent company Bass Pro that they do not sell black powder firearms online or over the telephone.
Outside of the office, Sean loves spending time with his family. He has been married to his wife Kelly for almost 9 years, and together they have three children: Jackson, Mackenzie, and Logan.
At the end of the day, Sean values the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives and provide them with solace when they have nowhere else to turn.
For the Foltz family, the Wiant family, the Galliher family, and all of his other clients, Sean’s commitment to seeking justice for those who have been wronged has led to incredible results. But his advocacy doesn’t end at the immediate needs of his clients. Sean’s passion for personal injury lawsuits stems from a desire to improve the community around him – to implement long-lasting change that makes Ohio safer.
In the News
- BBC: Ohio student dies after college fraternity’s initiation ceremony
- WTOL: Ohio’s anti-hazing bill goes into effect Oct. 7; ‘Collin’s Law’ supporters hope it sends a message
- The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware student Stone Foltz dies after alleged BGSU hazing incident left him on life support
- The News-Herald: Hazing suit at Bowling Green ends with nearly $3M settlement
- WOSU: Bowling Green, Stone Foltz’s family settle hazing death lawsuit for $2.9 million
Education
- Capital University Law School
- The Ohio State University
Accolades
- The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40
- Best Lawyers – Ones to Watch
- Ohio Association for Justice J. Thomas Henrietta Distinguished Advocacy Award
- SuperLawers, 2023
- SuperLawyers Rising Stars
Bar Admissions
- Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Professional Memberships
- Ohio State Bar Association
- Columbus Bar Association
- Ohio Association for Justice
- American Association for Justice
Representative Verdicts and Settlements
- $23,465,591.73 verdict for Keziah Lewis who was catastrophically injured by defective amusement ride that broke apart mid-ride.
- $1.25M Settlement for the family of a young man who was killed when sporting goods store illegally sold a firearm.
- Confidential Settlement for brain injury sustained while in a rideshare vehicle.
- Confidential Settlement for woman who was sexually assaulted at a fraternity.
- 7-figure confidential Settlement for the death of a young man due to fraternity hazing.
- Confidential Settlement for family injured in a crash involving a tractor-trailer.
- Confidential Settlement for man injured while driving a motorcycle.
- Confidential Settlement for medical negligence related to botched surgery leading to amputation.
- $267,000 Settlement for catastrophic injuries related to botulism outbreak.
- $635,000 Settlement for young girl injured at a daycare facility by improperly secured hardware.
- Confidential Settlement for serious injuries sustained during fraternity hazing.
- $700,000 Settlement settlement for family of woman who died after her call alarm was programmed to the wrong room in independent living facility.
- 7-figure Confidential Settlement Settlement for legal malpractice in intellectual property litigation.
- 7-figure Confidential Settlement Settlement for family of young man killed by defective cable barrier system.
- 7-figure Confidential Settlement Settlement for man injured in workplace incident.
- $825,000 Settlement Settlement for family of man catastrophically injured by tractor-trailer doing a U-turn on highway.
