Sean D. Johnson
Sean has been an attorney in the Austin office of Reid Collins & Tsai since the founding of the firm. Sean received his Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2006. During law school, Sean clerked for the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas as well as the Dallas County and Travis County District Attorney’s Office and was a student lawyer in the school’s Juvenile Justice Clinic where he represented indigent juveniles in pre-trial detention hearings. After attending the University of Texas School of Law for his final semester, Sean worked for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association where he served in one of the only positions in the state that advises and counsels every District and County Attorney’s office in Texas.
Sean has successfully resolved many claims in favor of clients in many different areas of law including: contract claims, commercial arbitration, FLSA litigation, construction law, trademark and copyright disputes, DTPA, landlord – tenant, lemon law, tax appraisal protests, personal injury, wills, probate, wrongful termination, non-compete agreements, and enforcement of foreign and domestic judgments.
Notable Representations:
- Sean represented approximately 30 clients from Waco to San Antonio in Federal Labor Standards Act litigation against the parent company of three nationwide restaurant chains that resulted in substantial settlements for back wages and liquidated damages that also forced the defendants to adopt policies and procedures that would prevent future violations.
- As part of a pro bono team of attorneys, Sean helped obtain a not guilty verdict after a week and a half long federal trial. Our client was a former San Antonio ISD Board of Trustee that was accused of accepting bribes in exchange for votes in favor of specific insurance providers and was facing a twenty-year sentence. The team was able to show that the FBI directed its informants to use their prior relationships with the defendant as a pretext for giving her gifts, which she thought were legitimate. The government was never able to show that defendant ever offered anything in exchange for the gifts and ultimately justice prevailed.
- Sean obtained a $1.6 million settlement for a client who was struck by an elderly driver while riding her bike. Our client spent 68 days in the hospital and suffered 30 broken bones, including an open book pelvis fracture. Liability was not clear initially because defendant was pleading that an unexpected medical issue caused him to lose consciousness prior to the collision, which is a valid defense in Texas.
- Through settlement, Sean recouped of all our client's losses against a large multi-level marketing scheme on the basis that it was an illegal pyramid scheme.
Sean earned his B.A. in Government from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was an officer of the Texas Wranglers, an honorary service organization. Sean is a devoted Longhorn fan and enjoys attending as many of his alma mater’s sporting events as possible. He is also a proud Eagle Scout and recently started motorcycling.