Sean P. McGinley

Raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Sean McGinley is an experienced trial and appellate attorney.  He joined DiTrapano, Barrett & DiPiero, PLLC in October of 1995.

After earning his law degree at Keble College at Oxford University in 1990, Mr. McGinley served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia through 1993. During his tenure there, he clerked for Chief Justice Thomas E. McHugh and Justice Thomas B. Miller. In 1994 and 1995, Mr. McGinley clerked for the Hon. Charles H. Haden, II, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Since joining DiTrapano, Barrett & DiPiero, PLLC, Mr. McGinley has substantial experience as a litigator and has successfully prosecuted many appeals to the Supreme Court of West Virginia. He has also lectured media organizations on First Amendment and defamation issues.

He and his wife, Ana G. Marino, reside in Charleston with their two sons, Liam Patrick McGinley and Colin Sean McGinley.

Practice areas

Education

• B.A. Honours, Jurisprudence, Oxford University, 1990
• A.B., Oberlin College, 1987

Bar admissions

• West Virginia, 1991
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, 1991
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1996
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of West Virginia, 1999

Memberships

• West Virginia Law Institute, 2001–Present
  • Member, Governing Council
• West Virginia State Bar, 1991–Present
• American Bar Association
  • First Amendment and Media Litigation Committee American Association for Justice
• American Inn of Court
  • Master
• Kanawha County Bar Association

Published works

• "West Virginia's Very Own Celotex Trilogy: A Series of Recent Opinions by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia Reveals that the Rumors of Rule 56's Death Were Greatly Exaggerated," 98 West Virginia Law Review 571, 1996

Representative cases

• In Re: Charleston Gazette FOIA Request, 2008 WL 519078 (W.Va. 2008) (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 2008)
• Wilkerson v. Target Corp., 578 F.Supp.2d 835 (S.D.W.Va. 2008) (United States District Court for Southern District of West Virginia 2008)
• Keeney v. Charnock, 441 F.Supp.2d 769 (United States District Court for Southern District of West Virginia 2006)
• West Virginia ex rel. McGraw v. Minnesota Mining & Mfg., 354 F.Supp.2d 660 (United States District Court for Southern District of West Virginia 2005)
• Lawyer Disciplinary Board v. Moore, 591 S.E.2d 338 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 2003)
• Osborne v. United States, 567 S.E.2d 677 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 2002)
• Bradshaw v. Soulsby, 558 S.E.2d 681 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 2001)
• State ex rel. Rist v. Underwood, 524 S.E.2d 179 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1999)
• Wooten v. Roberts, 518 S.E.2d 645 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1999)
• Fitz water v. Harding, 510 S.E.2d 286 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1998)
• Brown v. Carvill, 527 S.E.2d 149 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1998)
• State ex rel. Charleston mail Association v. Ranson, 488 S.E.2d 5 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1997)
• Cordial v. Ernst & Young, 483 S.E.2d 248 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1996)
• Smith v. Stacy, 482 S.E.2d 115 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1996)
• State ex rel. East End Association v. McCoy, 481 S.E.2d 764 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1996)
• State ex rel. Suriano v. Gaughan, 480 S.E.2d 848 (Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia 1996)

 Representative clients

• Daily Gazette Company
• The Associated Press
• Gov. Arch A. Moore, Jr.