ABA Names Utah Lawyer as National Outstanding Young Lawyer
The American Bar Association has named Salt Lake City lawyer, Sean Reyes, as the 2007 National Outstanding Young Lawyer. Reyes, a 36-year-old litigation attorney at Parsons Behle & Latimer, was chosen over 24 other nominees nationwide for his legal skills and professionalism, local and national bar leadership, and commitment to public service. Reyes will be the first recipient of this newly established award.
Reyes, who was honored as the 2006 Utah Young Lawyer of the Year by the Utah State Bar, is past president of the Utah Minority Bar Association and is a director of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Utah Hispanic Business Leadership Foundation, and the Utah Asian Chamber of Commerce. Besides actively encouraging diversity in the legal and business community, he has supervised an expansive English language program for immigrants sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also established numerous community outreach programs as an LDS Bishop in the Capitol Hill area.
As a partner at Parsons Behle & Latimer, Reyes has handled multi-million dollar cases and litigated at the state supreme court and federal appellate level. He is known for working on pro bono cases that help the needy and for mentoring underprivileged students. Gilbert Bradshaw, a Brigham Young University law student mentored by Reyes and recently hired by a major New York City law firm, attributes Reyes as giving him the vision and the understanding he needed to succeed in the field of law. “He encouraged me to make the necessary life changes so that I could excel in both my academic and personal life.”
Reyes, a father of five, is currently a Judge Pro Tempore and the youngest member to serve on Governor Huntsman’s Judicial Nominating Commission for the Third District. Reyes has also served as an officer for Utah’s Young Lawyer Division and as a member of the Utah State Bar Commission, the state bar’s governing body. He has been active politically on the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly and Utah Hispanic/Latino Legislative Task Force.
A summa cum laude graduate of Brigham Young University and Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley, Reyes began practicing law in 1997. While in law school, he served on the board of the Asian Law Journal, the nation’s first publication dedicated to Asian/Pacific Island legal issues and was also a member of the Cal Men’s Volleyball team.
Governor Jon Huntsman Jr., who recommended Reyes for the award, wrote in a letter to the ABA:
Sean is remarkably dedicated to service and volunteering in the business, charitable, political and ecclesiastic communities. He serves on boards and commissions for businesses and non-profits statewide, and has helped organize and revitalize several ethnic chambers of commerce in the state. On the most grass roots level, he was able to unite many disparate groups in his neighborhood as an official in his church, while bridging religious, racial and other divides that had existed for years.
Of Reyes, Chief Justice Christine Durham of the Utah Supreme Court wrote in her nomination letter: “His reputation for competence and civility is excellent. His work clearly mark[s] him as a rising star with a commitment to the rule of law, equal opportunity, and high professional standards. He is a remarkable person who is using his extraordinary gifts to serve his profession and community.”
The son of a Filipino immigrant artist/businessman and Japanese-Hawaiian educator, Reyes remembers that “They were tremendous examples of compassion, service and sacrifice.” It was the obstacles and injustices his father faced as a minority businessman that largely motivated him to become an attorney.
The National Outstanding Young Lawyer Award will be presented to Reyes in his home town, Los Angeles, in February at the ABA Mid-Year Meeting.