Sean Campbell

Shareholder, LLC, and partnership disputes

Sean has developed particular depth in disputes among the owners of closely held businesses. He handles derivative actions and demand-futility litigation, books-and-records and inspection demands, deadlock and dissociation claims, buyout and valuation fights, and allegations of officer and manager misconduct. He works cross-practice with the firm’s Corporate and Tax attorneys to align the litigation strategy with the governance and tax consequences that follow it.

Privilege, discovery, and parallel proceedings

Businesses facing a civil suit and a government investigation simultaneously confront problems that ordinary discovery practice does not address. Sean litigates those problems, including privilege log disputes, work-product assertions, joint-defense and common-interest questions, and motions to stay civil discovery pending a criminal investigation. He also counsels corporate clients on where the attorney-client privilege begins and ends inside an organization, a subject on which he has presented continuing legal education.

Government, municipal, and administrative law

Sean represents businesses, property owners, and public bodies in regulatory enforcement actions, administrative appeals, and disputes with government entities. His work spans zoning and land use approvals, planning commission and governing body proceedings, municipal assessment and abatement appeals, Right-to-Know Law disputes, and constitutional due process challenges to agency action. His service as assistant counsel and lead litigation attorney for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development gives him an insider’s view of how agencies actually decide and where a well-framed record can change the outcome.

Professional licensing and ethics defense

Sean advises and defends licensed professionals in Pennsylvania facing disciplinary proceedings, licensure disputes, and ethics investigations, including matters before licensing boards, registry and certification bodies, and administrative tribunals, involving suspension, revocation, and allegations of misconduct. He also counsels lawyers and law firms on ethics compliance, conflicts, and disciplinary defense before the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Consumer financial services and collections compliance

Sean defends creditors, servicers, and collection professionals in litigation and compliance matters under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the UTPCPL, and the Pennsylvania Wiretap Act. He handles both individual claims and the policy work that keeps them from recurring, including call-recording and consent practices, dispute-response procedures, and settlement and workout strategy.

Prior experience

Sean served as assistant counsel in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of General Counsel, assigned to the Department of Community and Economic Development, where he was the agency’s lead litigation attorney. He represented the Commonwealth in complex administrative appeals, financial recovery proceedings, and regulatory enforcement actions involving state funding programs, economic development grants and loans, Act 47 municipal recovery, Right-to-Know Law disputes, and tax credit appeals, including matters before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Court, and the federal courts.

Before joining McNees, Sean focused on commercial and construction litigation, representing owners, contractors, and subcontractors in contract disputes, business torts, insurance coverage matters, and employment claims. He also handled shareholder and officer liability disputes, professional licensing defense, and regulatory matters.

Sean began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Sylvia H. Rambo of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and the Honorable J. Wesley Oler, Jr., of the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas.