Administrative Law
Arbitration & Mediation
Art Law
Commercial Litigation
Construction and Procurement Law
Employment Law
Environmental Law
Insurance Defense
Land Use/Real Estate Law
Legislative Relations
Natural Resource Law
Products Liability, Complex and Mass Tort Litigation
Water Law
Administrative Law
Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A. practice includes representation of private entities and individuals before federal and state agencies -- a service necessitated by the continuing nexus between private and public concerns and the highly regulated nature of our society. For example, the firm has represented clients on water rights matters before the State of New Mexico Office of the State Engineer, on bid protests before the New Mexico Information Systems Council, and on licensing issues before the State Purchasing Division of the General Services Department and the New Mexico Department of Regulation and Licensing. In the environmental area, the firm has represented landowners before the United States Environmental Protection Agency in connection with the storage and disposal of PCBs, and has assisted clients in dealing with the New Mexico Environment Department concerning clean-up of hazardous substances, including gasoline contamination, asbestos and hazardous chemicals. In the employment law area, the firm has represented clients in proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Human Rights Bureau of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, and before federal and state agencies on wage and hour claims.
The firm has also developed insight into administrative practice and procedure through its representation of a number of state and local government bodies and agencies, including the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority; the Artesia Special Hospital District; the City of Farmington; the City of Santa Fe; Curry County; the New Mexico Beef Council; the New Mexico Department of Energy; Minerals and Natural Resources; the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish; the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer; the New Mexico Department of Transportation; New Mexico State University; the San Juan County Water Commission; Santa Fe County; the University of New Mexico; and Valencia County. In addition, Craig Erickson of the firm has been an administrative hearing officer for the New Mexico Department of Health since 2003.
Thomas J. Horan, Of Counsel to the firm, has a Master's Degree in Public Administration, and has a unique perspective on administrative law as a former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives, from 1975-1977, and through his provision of legislative relations services to a wide spectrum of clients over the past three decades.
Arbitration and Mediation
Due to the spiraling costs of litigation and court delays arising from serious case backlogs, the firm believes that alternative dispute resolution methods, such as arbitration and mediation, often provide the most efficient and effective means of resolving controversies. Furthermore, courts today in New Mexico and around the country are pressing litigants to mediate.
In addition to representing clients in arbitration and mediation, members of the firm are available to serve as mediators and arbitrators of disputes. A number of the firm's attorneys have received special training in negotiation and settlement facilitation and have served as arbitrators, mediators and settlement facilitators. For example, Timothy M. Sheehan is a member of the Construction Industry Arbitration Panel of the American Arbitration Association, as well as the Association's Large, Complex Case Panel, and has served as an arbitrator in a variety of complex construction disputes. He is also a member of the Association of Attorney-Mediators, and has received mediation training from the Attorney-Mediators Institute in Houston, Texas. Mr. Sheehan has served as a mediator and settlement facilitator in numerous commercial disputes.
Briggs F. Cheney, who is Of Counsel to the firm, is a member of the Association of Attorney Mediators, and was trained in mediation by the Attorney-Mediators Institute in Houston, Texas. He also is a member of the American Arbitration Association's panel of neutral arbitrators and its Large, Complex Case Panel. Mr. Cheney mediates and arbitrates primarily in the personal injury area, and has served as a mediator or arbitrator in more than 100 cases.
Wendy E. York, Of Counsel to the firm, maintains a full-time arbitration and mediation practice and also serves as a Special Master by court appointment. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. York served as a trial court judge in the Civil Division of the Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque, New Mexico for eight years, where she presided over more than 1,200 civil cases, including tort cases, employment cases, class actions, commercial litigation and complex litigation. As a result of her judicial experience, she has a unique ability to help disputants appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of their positions and the vagaries that can make going to trial so risky and unpredictable. Ms. York has received advanced training in dispute resolution from Pepperdine University.
Art Law
Sheehan & sheehan's practice involves legal issues relating to the art world. Artists, collectors, dealors, galleries, museums and publishers have chosen our law firm to represent them for many years. During those years,we have assigned in the resolution of disputes between artists and galleries, and the negotiation and enforcement of agreemnets between artists and publishers.
The firm emphasizes close, on-going communication with its art world clients. A sampling of those clients includes:
Estate of R.C Gorman
Steve Hanks
Estate of Helen Hardin
Hogback Trading Company
Indian Arts & Craft Association
Indian Arts Foundation
John D.Kennedy,Inc.
Janusz Kozikowski
Betty Sabo
David Schwindt
The Will & Selma Dingee Shuster Estate
Jaune Quick to See Smith
Gordon Snidow
Weems Artfest
Commercial Litigation
A major part of Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A. practice is devoted to litigating a wide range of commercial issues. For example, the firm frequently represents its construction industry clientele in disputes, which often involve complex factual issues and voluminous documents. Our commercial litigation experience extends to disputes in the areas of employment law, consumer law, oil and gas law, securities law, water law, and natural resource law, and has involved contracts and real property disputes, professional malpractice defense, business torts, insurance coverage, the Uniform Commercial Code, and lender liability issues. We have state-of-the-art computerized systems for document control to assist in organizing and streamlining complex commercial litigation.
The firm's attorneys have jury and non-jury trial experience in state and federal courts, and also have represented clients in adjudications before administrative agencies. The firm is also committed to pursuing alternative dispute resolution techniques, such as arbitration and mediation. Those forums increasingly provide the most timely and economical means of resolving commercial disputes. A number of the firm's attorneys have served as arbitrators, and have significant experience representing clients in arbitration proceedings in conjunction with the firm's long-standing service to construction industry clients.
Construction and Procurement Law
For more than thirty-five years, Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A. has represented a wide range of construction industry clients. Our many clients include construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, owners, design professionals and the State of New Mexico. The firm regularly represents clients in cases involving construction claims, bidding and procurement issues, construction liens, delay damage claims, Miller Act claims, governmental regulation of the construction industry, contract interpretation and construction failures.
Our trial lawyers make every effort to quickly master the facts of each construction dispute in order to advise clients of viable options for resolution, including possibilities for negotiated settlement and the advisability of preparing the case for presentation to a judge, jury or arbitration panel. Several members of the firm regularly serve as arbitrators in an effort to help resolve the growing number of construction disputes that are submitted to arbitration.
Firm members also participate in the construction industry through the presentation of seminars to numerous trade associations, lawyer groups and law students. Timothy M. Sheehan is the author of a text entitled Construction Law in New Mexico, which provides members of the construction industry and lawyers with a comprehensive overview of construction law in the State. In addition, members of the firm belong to the Construction Industry Forum of the American Bar Association, the Associated General Contractors of New Mexico, the Construction Industry Arbitration Panel of the American Arbitration Association, the Construction Financial Management Association, and Associated Builders & Contractors of New Mexico.
Employment Law
There have been many significant changes in the employment law area in recent years, including steady erosion of the termination-at-will doctrine, hiring and firing constraints imposed by federal statutes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, confusion caused by ambiguity in wage and hour laws governing overtime and compensatory time off, and a proliferation of discrimination charges under federal civil rights statutes and the New Mexico Human Rights Act. As a result, employers are finding themselves increasingly vulnerable to employment-related claims, and in need of legal counseling on their rights and responsibilities under various federal and state laws governing employment practices. In addition, economic changes have occasioned corporate restructuring and down-sizing, with resultant reductions in force. The firm's employment law practice has expanded in response to those developments, and we provide a variety of large and small employers, as well as employees, with assistance on employment-related matters.
For example, the firm has defended employers in administrative proceedings and litigation involving claims of sexual harassment, and discrimination based on race, religion, age, gender, ethnicity and disability. We have represented employers as well as employees in disputes involving claims of breach of employment contracts, wrongful termination, and retaliatory discharge, and in administrative proceedings involving unemployment compensation claims. Kim A. Griffith, Barbara G. Stephenson, and Quentin Smith of the firm provide ongoing counsel to a number of companies on personnel issues, including employee performance and disciplinary problems; investigation and handling of discrimination complaints; and evaluation of wage and hour issues. The firm's goal in employment law counseling is to help employers understand their legal obligations under federal and state law, and to facilitate proper investigation and handling of personnel issues in order to prevent claims. In addition, the firm assists clients with drafting and review of employment contracts, including hiring contracts, severance agreements, and independent contractor agreements. The firm also assists clients with drafting, review and revision of personnel policies and procedures.
Environmental Law
Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A. offers representation to individuals, insurers, businesses, and governmental entities in the area of environmental law. Examples of the firm's work in the environmental law area include representation of insurance companies in leaking underground storage tank cases, and of property owners in real estate transactions involving contaminated land. We have represented landowners in environmental litigation arising out of gasoline contamination and other hazardous waste, including PCBs, medical wastes and solvents. The firm has also represented the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce in environmental litigation involving the construction of highway bridges over the Rio Grande; the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish; the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District; and the San Juan Water Commission in issues regarding the Endangered Species Act.
The firm uses a team approach in its work on environmental cases. Our attorneys work regularly with outside technical experts including geologists, hydrologists and economists with experience in environmental assessment and remediation. The firm's litigators and its extensive legal research, investigative and staff-support resources, also are available as needed to enhance the firm's services in this area.
Insurance Defense
Insurance defense has been a mainstay of the firm's litigation practice since 1950 and remains so today. We have defended claims of wrongful death, personal injury, property damage, products liability, professional liability, breach of warranty, negligence, employment related claims, and design and manufacturing defects, as well as insurance bad faith and coverage claims arising in a broad array of contexts.
A sampling of the firm's insurance defense clients includes:
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AM Trust North America Insurance |
North American Speciality Insurance Company |
Land Use and Real Estate Law
Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A. offers clients a full range of services in the area of land use. These services often complement the firm's practice in the areas of environmental law, water law, and construction law.
The firm has represented numerous clients in connection with planning and zoning determinations, and has played a vigorous role in commenting on and shaping subdivision ordinances implementing the New Mexico Subdivision Act. Furthermore, the firm has comprehensive knowledge concerning the use of impact fees and growth management tools to allow for reasonable and sensible growth. Private and public entities represented by the firm benefit from its considerable experience in the area of environmental law, particularly its familiarity with and understanding of the many federal and state regulations governing property use and development.
The firm has represented clients in court, administrative and arbitration proceedings involving quiet title actions; the dissolution and termination of partnerships involving real estate; the eviction of defaulting tenants; boundary, encroachment, and easement disputes; title issues, and foreclosure on real estate held by clients as security for obligations of others.
Legislative Relations
Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A.'s practice includes legislative relations under the direction of Thomas J. Horan. Through in-depth analysis of proposed legislation and on-going interaction with legislators, the firm seeks to provide increased protection for and advancement of its clients' interests.
Mr. Horan, Of Counsel to the firm, has engaged in legislative relations on behalf of a wide spectrum of clients for the past three decades, and was a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives from 1975-1977. Mr. Horan's legislative clients have included the American Automobile Association, Charter Companies, Forest City Covington, LLC - Mesa Del Sol, the City of Albuquerque, Health Plus of New Mexico, Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico, New Mexico Association of Non-Public Schools, New Mexico Mortgage Lenders Association, New Mexico Society of CPA's Educational Retirement Board, The Nature Conservancy, Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Presbyterian Health Plan, and Ski New Mexico, Inc..
Mr. Horan brings to the firm an in-depth knowledge and familiarity with the legislative process, and is well-equipped to represent the interests of the firm's clients in the legislative arena.
Natural Resources Law
Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A. provides assistance to clients in the area of natural resources law, including mining. Susan C. Kery and John W. Utton have both been certified as natural resource law specialists by the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization in the area of water law.
Examples of the firm’s natural resource law work include assisting a public utility in negotiations with the United States Forest Service regarding permitting and compliance with the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, and representation of clients in disputes involving issues arising under the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. The firm also has investigated and documented title to hard-rock mining claims; represented mining clients before the New Mexico State Legislature; and represented mining companies in the acquisition and transfer of water rights for industrial and reclamation purposes.
The firm's experience in other legal areas, such as administrative law, construction law, environmental law, legislative relations and water law, greatly enhances its ability to provide quality legal service to the mining industry and other natural resource clients.
Products Liability, Complex and Mass Tort Litigation
The firm has represented defendants in a variety of mass tort law suits, including the breast implant litigation, the L-Tryptophan litigation, the repetitive stress syndrome litigation, and asbestos litigation.
Briggs F. Cheney and Craig T. Erickson are the firm's attorneys who have worked most extensively on these cases. In addition, the firm has had, and continues to represent a wide variety of manufacturers and distributors in products liability and other personal injury and wrongful death cases.
The firm emphasizes close, on-going communication with its products liability clients and their insurers. A sampling of clients that we have represented in the products liability area includes:
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Champion Road Machinery |
Showa Denko Corporation |
Members of the firm participate in the Defense Lawyers Association.
Water Law
Sheehan & Sheehan, P.A. offers comprehensive services to clients in the area of water law, including assistance in the areas of government relations, water for development projects, water transactions, utility law, and water quality issues. Susan C. Kery and John W. Utton of the firm hold certifications as natural resource law specialists in the water law area from the New Mexico Board of Legal Specialization. The firm's current and former clients in the water law area include Santa Fe County; the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority; the City of Santa Fe; Waycor Materials, Inc.; Sparton Technology, Inc.; Intel Corporation; the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District; Doña Ana County; Vista del Oro subdivision; Black Ranch; American Property, Inc.; the Acequias Norteñas, and New Mexico State University.
In addition to successfully representing clients before the New Mexico State Engineer in connection with the transfer, appropriation, and proving of water rights, the firm has formulated municipal and institutional water plans; assisted clients with the establishment and operation of community and municipal water systems; represented private litigants in court regarding adjudications, applications and transfers of water rights; assisted clients in buying and selling water rights on the private market, and assisted clients with National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits and other water quality concerns. We also represent the New Mexico State Engineer and the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission on adjudication and Interstate water appropriation issues.
