• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

McCarter & English Logo

  • People
  • Services
  • Insights
  • Our Firm
    • Leadership Team
    • Social Justice
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Pro Bono
    • Client Service Values
    • Alumni
  • Join Us
    • Lawyers
    • Summer Associates
    • Patent Professionals
    • Professional Staff
    • Job Openings
  • Locations
    • Boston
    • Philadelphia
    • East Brunswick
    • Indianapolis
    • Stamford
    • Hartford
    • Trenton
    • Miami
    • Washington, DC
    • New York
    • Wilmington
    • Newark
  • Share

Share

Browse Alphabetically:

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z
  • All
Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Litigation
Blockchain, Smart Contracts & Digital Currencies
Business Litigation
Cannabis
Coronavirus Resource Center
Corporate
Crisis Management
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Delaware Corporate, LLC & Partnership Law
Design, Fashion & Luxury
E-Discovery & Records Management
Energy & Utilities
Environment & Energy
Financial Institutions
Food & Beverage
Government Affairs
Government Contracts & Global Trade
Government Investigations & White Collar Defense
Healthcare
Hospitality
Immigration
Impact Investing
Insurance Recovery, Litigation & Counseling
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Life Sciences
Manufacturing
Products Liability, Mass Torts & Consumer Class Actions
Public Finance
Real Estate
Renewable Energy
Sports & Entertainment
Tax & Employee Benefits
Technology Transactions
Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain Management
Trusts, Estates & Private Clients
Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies
  • Broadcasts
  • Events
  • News
  • Publications
  • View All Insights
Search By:
Shawn Smith
Alternate image for Shawn Smith

Shawn Smith

Partner

860.275.6777
Hartford
shsmith@mccarter.com

Shawn Smith helps clients solve complex civil and commercial disputes in federal and state courts across Connecticut.

Shawn focuses his practice on a broad range of complex civil and commercial litigation, often involving partnership and business disputes, unfair competition, theft of trade secret claims, commercial foreclosure, commercial leasing disputes, real estate, bankruptcy, and insurance related matters. He also regularly represents financial services clients, including insurance and annuity issuers, in a wide range of litigation, including interpleader actions seeking to determine the beneficiary of death benefit proceeds.

Active in both state and federal courts, Shawn has substantial experience in real estate litigation and frequently represents lenders, special servicers, trustees, and investors in loan workouts and in actions to enforce commercial loan agreements, including commercial foreclosures.  Shawn also regularly appears in bankruptcy proceedings to pursue proofs of claim, defend against preference actions, and move for stay relief to enforce rights with respect to collateral on behalf of secured creditors.  Additionally, he  advises property owners and landlords in disputes with commercial tenants, as well as on and other property management issues.

A sizeable part of Shawn’s practice is representing property owners and tenants in actions contesting the value of property for purposes of local taxation. Shawn has successfully reduced taxpayer liability on a variety of commercial property types throughout Connecticut, including big box retail, office buildings, movie theatres, research and development facilities, a data center, and other unique properties.

Shawn’s diverse practice also includes environmental law. He represents large utilities, lending institutions, electric suppliers, and a municipality regarding due diligence, permitting, regulatory compliance, and enforcement matters.

An active member of the firm’s pro bono program, Shawn has provided hundreds of hours to pro bono clients during his career, focusing on veterans and landlord/tenant issues.

Representative Matters

Textile and apparel business—Unfair trade practice litigation

Prosecuted claims for violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act on behalf of a textile and apparel business and against a former partner in an unrelated venture. After a jury trial at the Connecticut Complex Litigation Docket the Court ruled in favor of our client.

Information technology company—Florida federal court action

Defended an information technology company in federal court from claims of fraud, misrepresentation, unfair and deceptive conduct, and breach of warranty.

Investment manager; break-up of LLC—Jury trial

Prosecuted claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing in Connecticut Complex Litigation Docket resulting in five week jury trial and multi-million dollar jury verdict for full amount of claimed damages, attorneys' fees, and offer of judgment interest.

Homeowner—Environmental contamination claims

Prosecuted claims arising from the environmental contamination of a clients’ home and surrounding property that resulted in a highly favorable settlement.

Data center property owner—Reduction in Town’s valuation of real property

Represented a taxpayer in a  challenge to the Town’s assessment of its real property for purposes of taxation. The trial court reduced the valuation of the property by more than $36 million, resulting in significant tax savings for the client.

Life insurance company—Settlement and dismissal of litigation

Favorably settled and obtained the dismissal of litigation on behalf of a global provider of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs in an action filed by prior beneficiaries of a substantial life insurance policy claiming that the client’s representative had assisted a third party in exercising undue influence over the insured in order to change the beneficiary information.

WIN Waste Innovations—Environmental permitting 

Serve as counsel for an ash residue landfill in a challenge to the issuance of draft solid waste and water discharge permits in the administrative appeal process to expand the company’s ash residue landfill and extend the landfill’s useful life by 25‑30 years.

Purchaser of residential property—Contract dispute

Represented plaintiffs in a dispute against two trusts involving two contracts for the sale of residential property for $1.4M.

Highlights

Recognitions

Recognition image 10959
Connecticut Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2014–2022
Ranking Disclaimers: No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. For SuperLawyers methodology, see https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html.

sidebar

pdfemail

Services

Business Litigation
Environment & Energy
Creditors’ Rights

Education

University of Connecticut School of Law JD, with honors, 2009
College of the Holy Cross BA, 2006

Bar Admissions

Connecticut

Court Admissions

U.S. Court of AppealsVeterans ClaimsU.S. District CourtDistrict of Connecticut
Media item displaying Connecticut Updates Guidance on PFAS Drinking Water Action Levels
Publications|Alert
Connecticut Updates Guidance on PFAS Drinking Water Action Levels
Environment & Energy Alert
6.20.2022
mccarter partners
News|Press
McCarter Elevates New Class of Ten Partners
4.6.2022
Media item displaying How Some States Are Slowing Commercial Property Evictions
Publications|Article
How Some States Are Slowing Commercial Property Evictions
Law360
5.11.2020
Media item displaying Several Northeast, Mid-Atlantic States Address Commercial Evictions During COVID-19 Pandemic
Publications|Alert
Several Northeast, Mid-Atlantic States Address Commercial Evictions During COVID-19 Pandemic
Coronavirus Legal Advisory
4.28.2020
coronavirus
Publications|Alert
Connecticut’s “Stay Safe, Stay Home” Order Restricts In-Person Workplace Operations of Non-Essential Businesses
Coronavirus Legal Advisory
3.24.2020
Insights Awards Trophy
News|Recognition
2015 Litigation Department of the Year Profile: Writing the Book on Business Law
​Connecticut Law Tribune
5.18.2015
McCarter & English, LLP
Copyright © 2023 McCarter & English, LLP. All Rights Reserved.
  • Login
  • Attorney Advertising
  • Privacy
  • Awards Methodology
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Sitemap

The McCarter & English, LLP website is for informational purposes only. We do not provide legal advice on this website. We can provide legal advice only to our clients in specific inquiries that they address to us. If you are interested in becoming a client, please contact us, but do not send any information about your specific legal question. We cannot serve as your lawyers until we establish an attorney-client relationship, which can occur only after we follow procedures within our firm and after we agree to the terms of the representation.

Accept Cancel