Shawn E. Haggerty

Associate

Overview

Born in the Pacific Northwest, Shawn was raised in a family of medical professionals and cattle ranchers. Shawn took her adventurous spirit to the east coast after high school to pursue her undergraduate degree in Linguistics and Spanish at Millersville University. After returning to Vancouver, WA, in 2015, Shawn turned her talents towards the pursuit of a legal career in Workers’ Compensation, and eventually attended Willamette University, College of Law, where she obtained her Doctor of Jurisprudence in 2023.

While at Willamette University, Shawn worked with the law school’s environmental law clinic, and with Oregon state senators at the capitol building across the street, to promote legislation to improve living conditions for Oregonians, and support small businesses and rural farmers in Oregon. She represented the class of 2023 as Treasurer and Vice President of the Student Bar Association and was also Vice President of the American Constitution Society. With support from her cohorts, she hosted speaker events at the school to push sensible criminal justice reform. In her final year of law school, she worked as a criminal defense legal intern before serving as an indigent criminal defense attorney with the District Court of Clark County in Washington.

My goal with all my clients is to tailor a legal strategy to their unique objectives while also minimizing adverse exposure. I believe in a client-directed balance between creative litigation and risk management, which requires effective dialogues, comprehensive understanding of the case and legal strategy, and resilient client advocacy. Cases can evolve quickly and necessitates flexibility and timely action by the attorney. Successful management and litigation of a case is achieved with prompt appraisals of developments with the client to align with their goals, reduce uncertainty, and maintain clear direction of the case.

Although I am unwavering in my courtroom appearances, sometimes the needs of the client require tempered and realistic negotiations for favorable results. Working together to navigate troublesome matters, I strive to engage and assure my clients with transparent communication and mutually calculated movements.

When not at work, Shawn enjoys exploring the mountains and coastlines of the Pacific Northwest.  On some of her excursions, she will seek and identify native edible plants and shellfish, but only when the season and food safety advisories permit.  Shawn frequently attends events within the legal community to network with talented professionals and celebrate their incredible work.  She investigates local legislative policy actions for fun and recommends subscribing to your local newspaper for relevant and valuable reporting.  She is entertained by thrillers and dramas because she likes the excitement of surprises.