Sean A. O'Connor

North Charleston, South Carolina

Member

phone	(843) 577-5460
fax	866-800-7954

Mr. O'Connor practices in the Charleston office in the litigation division of Finkel Law Firm LLC. His practice is primarily focused on lender liability and commercial and real property-related litigation, including serving as statewide counsel for national loan servicers and lenders. Mr. O'Connor also handles collection of debts, contested foreclosures and other real-estate related litigation and further provides skilled, experienced representation of homeowners associations, condominium associations and other property regimes. He also has experience in handling landlord-tenant disputes, both commercial and residential. Mr. O'Connor is a seasoned trial and appellate attorney who has appeared in all state and federal courts in South Carolina, including the South Carolina Supreme Court, South Carolina Court of Appeals and United States District Court. He has also been admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia.

Prior to joining Finkel Law Firm LLC, Mr. O'Connor practiced with a large South Carolina defense firm and handled a wide variety of complex insurance litigation, declaratory and direct actions involving insurance carriers, coverage issues, and defense of professional liability and personal injury actions. He has spoken at multiple continuing legal education seminars on lender liability, debt collection, community association law and insurance-related topics.

He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2000, graduating cum laude, and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar and the United States District Court of South Carolina the same year. At the USC School of Law, Mr. O'Connor was awarded membership in the Order of the Wig and Robe and received CALI, formerly American Jurisprudence, awards in Evidence and Mass Torts. He also served as an Associate Articles Editor for the South Carolina Law Review and is the author of Last Call: The South Carolina Supreme Court Turns Out the Lights on First-Party Plaintiffs' Causes of Action Against Tavern Owners, 50 S.C. L. Rev. 1095 (1999). He was a recipient of the Pinckney L. Cain Scholarship in 1998-1999 and 1999-2000.

Mr. O'Connor has served an adjunct faculty member at the Charleston School of Law, teaching legal writing to first year law students. Since 2002 he has served on a pro bono panel offering free legal consultation and services to students at the Medical University of South Carolina. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity of Berkeley County and is a volunteer reading tutor for Charleston County Public Schools in the Reading Partners program.

Prior to law school, Sean earned bachelor's degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky University and worked for several years in sales and marketing, first in minor league professional baseball and later in the steel industry. He is a member of the Charleston County and South Carolina Bars, the South Carolina Chapter of the Community Associations Institute and the West Ashley / James Island Business Association. Mr. O'Connor was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in September 1966.

Areas of Practice:

• Litigation

Bar Admissions:

• South Carolina, 2000
• U.S. District Court District of South Carolina, 2000

Education:

• University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, South Carolina, May, 2000
  • Juris Doctor
  • Honors: Cum Laude
  • Honors: Dean's List
  • Honors: Order of Wig and Robe
  • Honors: CALI Award in Evidence
  • Honors: CALI Award in Mass Torts
  • Honors: Recipient of Pinckney L. Cain Scholarship, 1998-'99 and 1999-2000
• University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1988
  • Bachelor of Arts
  • Major: Communication Arts
• Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, Kentucky, 1993
  • Bachelor of Arts
  • Major: Journalism

Published Works:

• How a Lack of Regulation Turned into a Big Dam Problem, 28 Sep. S.C. Lawyer 44 (September 2016)
• Last Call: The South Carolina Supreme Court Turns Out the Lights on First-Party Plaintiffs' Causes of Action Against Tavern Owners, 50 S.C. L. Rev. 1095 (1999)

Representative Cases:

• Toney v. Lasalle Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 896 F.Supp.2d 455 (D.S.C. 2012)
• BAC Home Loan Servicing, L.P. v. Kinder, 398 S.C. 619, 731 S.E.2d 547 (2012)
• Bank of New York v. Sumter County, 387 S.C. 147, 691 S.E.2d 473 (2010)
• Marichris, LLC v. Derrick, 384 S.C. 345, 682 S.E.2d 301 (Ct. App. 2009)
• Drury Development Corp v. Foundation Ins. Co., 380 S.C. 97, 668 S.E.2d 798 (2008)
• Eastern Savings Bank, FSB v. Sanders, 373 S.C. 349, 644 S.E.2d 802 (Ct. App. 2007)
• Wilson v. Style Crest Products, Inc., 367 S.C. 653, 627 S.E.2d 733 (2006)
• Charleston Dry Cleaners and Laundry, Inc. v. Zurich American Ins. Co., 355 S.C. 614, 586 S.E.2d 586 (2003)

Professional Associations and Memberships:

• South Carolina Bar Association
  • Member
• Charleston County Bar Association
  • Member
• Charleston Lawyers Club
  • Member
• Community Associations Institute, South Carolina Chapter
  • Member

**Any results the law firm may have achieved in past cases does not imply or indicate that similar results may be had in your case. Outcome of litigation is dependent on many factual and legal circumstances that may differ in your particular case.