Shawn McGraw joined the firm in 2020 and focuses his practice on providing outside General Counsel services to companies of varying sizes and markets, including private equity firms, manufacturers, commercial distributors and contractors.  Shawn is uniquely qualified to assist and advise business clients in both solving complex challenges and taking advantage of new opportunities given his nearly two decades of experience as an in-house attorney working directly in a business environment.   .  

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Prior to coming to KDG, Shawn’s experience included his role as the Vice-President & General Counsel to a world-wide group of companies that provide products and services to commercial weatherproofing and construction markets and whose revenues approached one-billion dollars during his tenure.  In his role as General Counsel, Shawn was in charge of all legal matters for the companies he represented with responsibilities that included:

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• effective coordination and implementation of company acquisitions, with particular emphasis on the post-closing phase;

• drafting and negotiation of commercial contracts in a variety of contexts to support business initiatives;

• advising human resource executives on all aspects of employment matters and personnel decisions, including preparation of company policies and handbooks;

• the successful development and execution of national and international litigation strategies;

• direct interaction with federal, state and local government agencies and officials to assist clients with a variety of regulatory and compliance-related matters; and

• extensive experience delivering presentations to internal business audiences on topics ranging from prudent business communications to insurance and risk management.

During his time as in-house counsel, Shawn was recognized by his business colleagues with the 2012 Cornerstone award for making business easy and demonstrating consistently superior results. He was also selected to participate in a 2017 company-sponsored executive leadership program at The United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. 

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In addition to his General Counsel experience, Shawn worked as a law clerk in the Federal District Court, Northern District of Ohio and in private practice where he was involved in the successful representation of numerous clients including a large chemical manufacturer against claims from adjacent landowners who alleged personal and property damage from the company’s deepwell injection process. 

Presentations

Shawn is frequently invited to present at business and continuing legal education events sponsored by organizations such as Crain’s Cleveland Business, ALFA International and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association on topics relevant to companies of all sizes and markets including:

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• strategies for successfully defending class actions against building products manufacturers;

• employment issues facing in-house attorneys;  

• emerging issues in e-discovery; and

• best practices for successful mediation. 

Community Involvement

• Board of Directors for Julie Billiart Schools, which focuses on the needs of children with special learning challenges (2006-2018);

• Audit Committee for Notre Dame College (2018 to present); and

• Board of Advisors to Borromeo College (2018 to present).