Sean Gallagher has spent more than 25 years fighting for his clients in boardrooms and courtrooms across the country, and is one of only a handful of lawyers in Colorado history to have argued a case in the Supreme Court of the United States and prevailed with a unanimous decision.
Sean has been elected by his peers as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers for his "sustained outstanding performance in the profession." Noted by the Chambers USA guide for his “excellent follow through,” Sean’s active trial and appellate practice emphasizes three general areas: commercial litigation, employment counseling/litigation, and constitutional/public policy matters. Sean has been recognized as one of the Top 100 lawyers in Colorado by Colorado Super Lawyers.
As a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment practice, Sean assists employers in implementing proactive employment policies that help minimize the risk of litigation. When necessary, however, he represents management in all aspects of employment litigation, including cases involving covenants not to compete, wage and hour violations, breach of fiduciary duty and discrimination.
His representative commercial litigation experience includes cases involving claims for breach of contract, common law fraud, securities fraud, defamation, unfair competition, consumer protection violations, theft of intellectual property, whistleblowing, ERISA, Medicare payer rules, state and local tax matters and corporate governance disputes.
Many of Sean’s cases involve disputes in which the client’s business interests collide with government regulations and policies, often in a very public way. Sean has represented companies, trade associations, political leaders and public servants with a broad spectrum of public policy, constitutional, and election matters, including several First Amendment cases of national significance. He has served as national counsel for three presidential campaigns, has twice been appointed a Special Assistant Attorney General by the State of Colorado, and has been retained on multiple occasions by the U.S. Department of Justice to represent federal officials in civil litigation. In 2012, he successfully represented two U.S. Secret Service agents in the Supreme Court of the United States in Reichle v. Howards, 566 U.S. ___ (2012) where he obtained a unanimous decision on behalf of his clients in a case involving the scope of civil liability of Secret Service agents protecting the President and Vice President.
As an adjunct to his litigation practice, Sean is nationally recognized for his experience in the field of electronic discovery. He is a member of The Sedona Conference’s Working Group on Best Practices for Electronic Document Retention and Production and helped lead a team that drafted the conference’s commentary on Proportionality in the e-Discovery Process. A sought after speaker, Sean has lectured at more than 150 programs across the country on litigation, ethics, and electronic discovery matters. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School, where he teaches Electronic Discovery.
Distinctions
- Named "Labor & Employment Star" by Benchmark Litigation, 2019-2021
- Successful oral argument and unanimous decision in the Supreme Court of the United States in Reichle v. Howards
- College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Fellow
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of:
- Commercial Litigation, 2011-2021
- Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2011-2021
- Selected for inclusion in Colorado Super Lawyers, 2006-2007, 2009-2014
- Ranked in the Top 100 Colorado Super Lawyers, 2013, 2015-2017
- Selected by the Denver Business Journal as one of top 10 newsmakers in the legal field for their 2012 Power Book
- Ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2004-2007
- Ranked in Chambers USA, General Commercial, Recognized Practitioner, Colorado, 2018-2020
- Managing Editor, The Practitioner's Guide To Colorado Employment Law, 1999-present
- Selected as one of the top 100 Irish Lawyers in America by the Irish Legal 100
- Appointed by Chief Justice of Colorado to Civil Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, 2013-present
- Former member, Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission, 2000-2006
Memberships
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- Member, Colorado Supreme Court Pattern Civil Jury Instructions Committee
- Chair, United States District Court Chief Judge's Select Committee on Judicial Working Group
- Managing Editor, The Practitioner's Guide to Colorado Employment Law, published annually by the Colorado Bar Association
- Committee chairman, American Bar Association, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee
- Litigation track coordinator, American Bar Association Annual Labor and Employment Conference
- Member, Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
- Member, Republican National Lawyers Association
- Member of Electronic Discovery Working Group, the Sedona Conference
- Former member, Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Committee (2000-2006)
- Former board member, Rocky Mountain Junior Achievement
- Former board member, treasurer and chairman, Rocky Mountain Human Services and Denver Options
- Former board member, Faculty of Federal Advocates
- Founding member, Denver Active 20-30
- Former Adjunct Law Professor, Electronic Discovery, University of Colorado Law School
- Former Adjunct Law Professor, Lawyering Process, University of Denver Sturm College of Law