Your Rights. Our Mission.
Biography
I am the lead attorney and founder of the Pharr Law Group. I have dedicated my career to defending people in the state and federal courts all around the Commonwealth of Kentucky, specializing in complex criminal cases. I also regularly represent individuals charged with misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and in certain family court matters.
I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Kentucky with degrees in Philosophy and Political Science. I graduated from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law with the highest honors while serving as Executive Editor of the Northern Kentucky Law Review and competing in multiple national competitions in mock trial and appellate advocacy.
After law school, I moved to Louisville for the only legal position I have ever applied for: as a trial lawyer with the Louisville Metro Public Defender. There I learned true, indiscriminate passion and gained invaluable experience defending thousands of cases ranging from DUI to Murder on behalf of those who could not afford a lawyer. I tried many cases as a public defender and won more awards for full acquittals in felony jury trials than any of the other 75 lawyers during my time at the office. I also served as Deputy Division Chief, a leadership role over a team of trial lawyers with added responsibilities to train office staff on a range of topics. While a public defender, I am proud to have graduated from the prestigious National Criminal Defense College in Macon, Georgia. I will forever be a public defender at heart and regularly accept appointments representing indigent clients in both the state and federal courts.
I founded my private practice in 2017 in Louisville shortly before moving home to Northern Kentucky to start a family. With deep ties to both places, my practice naturally bridged both areas. Over time, as I represented clients from both locations and their surrounding areas, the courts in which I regularly practiced gradually expanded. Today, I have defended felony cases in nearly 80 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
As an active member of the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, I continue working tirelessly to master the craft of criminal defense. My philosophy is simple: I do not care what my clients may or may not have done. I will not leave this office, or take my seat in court, until every person I represent receives the same level of defense that I would demand for my own family.
Practice Areas
- Trial Practice
- Criminal Defense
- Family Law
- Divorce
- Traffic Violations
- Federal Criminal Defense
- Domestic Violence
- Personal Injury
- Custody and Child Support
Bar Admissions
- Kentucky
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky
- U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio
Education
- Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Highland Heights, Kentucky
- Juris Doctor
- Honors: summa cum laude
- Honors: Moot Court Board, Member
- Honors: National Mock Trial Team, Member
- Honors: Student Advocacy Society, Chair
- National Criminal Defense College, Macon, Georgia
- University of Kentucky
- B.A., Bachelor of Arts - 08/1220
- Major: Political Science
- University of Kentucky
- B.A., Bachelor of Arts - 08/1220
- Major: Philosophy
Professional Associations
- Louisville Bar Association
- Northern Kentucky Bar Association
- Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Honors
- Awarded 5 “Walker Awards”
Pro-Bono Activities
- Volunteer Legal Panelist at Men's Healing Place, Present
- Volunteer Legal Panelist at Women's Healing Place, Present
- Legal Aid Society Expungement Clinic, Present
Classes & Seminars
- Expungement Continuing Legal Education (Presenter), Legal Aid Society
Past Positions
- Louisville Metro Public Defender - Adult Trial Division, (Staff Attorney), 08/2012 to 06/2015
- Louisville Metro Public Defender - Adult Trial Division, (Deputy Division Chief), 06/2015 to 09/2017
- United States Attorney's Office, (Law Clerk)
- Kenton County Attorney's Office, (Law Clerk)
Representative Cases
- COMMONWEALTH V. MH, When police claimed our client had caused a fatal head-on collision while under the influence, he was charged with DUI and Murder, facing life in prison. Despite having fled an accident scene littered with opened alcohol containers, Sean secured the client’s pretrial release while he challenged the government’s evidence and enlisted the help of a renowned accident reconstructionist. On the eve of trial, we were able to negotiate probation on reduced charges avoiding all prison time.
- COMMONWEALTH V. EP, Our client’s nightmare had only just begun when his 4-week-old son stopped breathing in his arms. Doctors found bleeding on the baby’s brain and fractures in multiple parts of his body. After the region’s preeminent forensic pediatrician issued a devastating report that the injuries were intentionally inflicted by our client, he was charged and faced 10 years in prison. By meticulously investigating the child’s whereabouts for every day of his young life, and raising substantial medical questions about whether the injuries were caused by a stroke in the womb, Sean was able to negotiate a resolution which would have eventually dismissed the charges. But our client persisted in his innocence and rejected the offer. After a taxing week-long trial, our client was exonerated and reunited with his son after nearly 2 years.
- CW V. JBT, It was a tragedy caught on tape at a bar, as our client raised a 45 caliber pistol to a man’s chest and shot him at close range. The two were friends, and while the man lived, he will likely never walk again. Refusing to believe our client never meant to pull the trigger, the government charged him with Attempted Murder and Assault. After a years-long legal battle, the case culminated in a trial that amounted to a legal dissertation on the concept of intent. When the jury announced that it had ac, 2022, Jefferson Circuit Court
- COMMONWEALTH V. A.D, In a recent case, our client was pulled over on suspicion of DUI. Although she admitted to drinking, had an open bottle of wine in the car, and “failed” the field sobriety tests (according to officer), she gave us enough to work with by refusing the breath test. With his client’s nursing license on the line, Sean tried the case. The jury deliberated just 10 minutes before returning a verdict of Not Guilty.
- COMMONWEALTH V. R.B., Absolutely nobody (not even us at first) believed our client, with a long history of drug trafficking, possessed a substantial quantity of narcotics for mere personal use. But after a year of litigation, many “spirited” confrontations with prosecutor and judge alike, and some teaching about the value, quantity, and business of this particular drug, Sean helped his client avoid a 20-year sentence. We are thrilled in knowing that our client successfully completed probation and is now 5 years clean and sober.