Attorney Profile

Sean D. Hawkins, Esq

Of Counsel

Professional Experience

Mr. Hawkins graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2005.  After graduating, he practiced law in the Dallas, Texas office of Vinson & Elkins in the areas of finance and commercial real estate.  Following his time at Vinson & Elkins, Mr. Hawkins practiced in the Dallas, Texas office of Thompson & Knight in commercial real estate, with a focus on lending work.  Mr. Hawkins later moved inhouse to work for a client of the firm, Nuverra Environmental Solutions (f/k/a Heckmann Corporation).   After working in Nuverra’s offices in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Houston, Texas, he was promoted to Vice President and Deputy General Counsel and moved to their corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Mr. Hawkins later moved to Denver, Colorado in 2017 to accept a position as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Hillstone Environmental Partners before the company’s successful sale to a public company.  Since his time in Colorado, Mr. Hawkins has also successfully run a start-up residential construction company, building homes in southern Colorado.

As General Counsel, Mr. Hawkins worked closely with the accounting, risk management, finance, corporate development and human resources departments within the company.  As such, he has extensive experience with company mergers and acquisitions; loan and finance agreements; real estate purchase agreements and leases; master service agreements; corporate governance; entity formation; employment agreements; pipeline and other energy related agreements; construction and engineering agreements; and a variety of other transactional agreements.

As co-owner of a residential construction company, Mr. Hawkins is thoroughly familiar with the various business and legal needs of many different types of companies.  He knows what keeps executives up at night because he’s experienced it himself.  He also knows the difference between true legal value add versus attorneys focusing too much time on contract provisions that don’t move the needle.  His clients appreciate his business-minded approach and not having to spend legal fees unnecessarily on unimportant contract minutiae.  His clients also appreciate the fact that they can pick up the phone and not feel like the meter is running when they just need to quickly bounce something off him.

Distinctions/Honors

• Texas Rising Stars® by Thomson Reuters (Real Estate) – 2011
• Texas Rising Stars® by Thomson Reuters (Real Estate) – 2010
• Editor of Mortgage Law Summary, Seventh Edition, 2009, a 550-page compilation of mortgage law for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, published by the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, Inc.
• Editor of Mortgage Law Summary, Sixth Edition, 2007

Bar Admission:

Texas, 2005

Education:

University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 2005, Article Editor, Journal of Constitutional Law

The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Certificate in Study of Business and Public Policy, 2005

Brigham Young University, B.S. in Psychology, 2001, Minor in Philosophy, 2001