PLAINTIFF’S PERSONAL INJURY & WRONGFUL DEATH - Aviation Disasters, Dram Shop/Bar, Drug and Medical Device Litigation, Fire and Explosions, Fraud and Commercial Torts, Government Liability, Insurance and Bad Faith, Legal and Other Professional Liability, Medical Malpractice, Motor Vehicle/Motorcycle/Commercial Trucking Collisions, Negligence, Nursing Home/Elder Abuse, Products Liability, Sexual Misconduct
As co-leader of the firm’s Plaintiff’s Personal Injury & Wrongful Death practice group, Shannon serves as a tireless advocate for victims of negligent and wrongful conduct throughout Arizona and across the United States.
Throughout his decades-long career, Shannon has been drawn to legal matters that compelled him to advocate for individuals who were harmed in some way through the fault of others. Shannon’s passion for justice and resolute dedication to defending the rights of injured or wronged individuals has garnered in excess of $250,000,000 in jury verdicts, arbitration awards, mediation results, and negotiated settlements for personal injury, wrongful death, and legal and medical malpractice. Beyond helping his clients obtain compensation for devastating injuries and personal tragedy, Shannon also supports those he serves regarding the many often non-legal details of putting their lives back together and moving forward.
Shannon is deeply committed to his clients, and his effort extends beyond the intricacies of any given lawsuit to champion consumer safety issues for greater social impact. While commanding the fortitude, experience, resources, and overall “fire in the belly” needed to take on major manufacturers and institutional defendants, Shannon remains ultra-sensitive to the human element of each case he handles. He approaches his clients as people first, which makes him broadly effective in understanding the challenges they face while advocating their causes.
Notably, Shannon is a member of the firm’s board of directors.
REPRESENTATIVE CASES
- Plaintiffs’ Leadership Committee and trial team member for mass tort claims against Bard for defective IVC filters.
- Helped defrauded family resolve settlement fraud claims relating to defective truck tire.
- Helped secure important Arizona Supreme Court ruling that Arizona hospitals can be subject to liability for abuse and neglect of vulnerable adults.
- Successfully resolved case for victims of failed (and later recalled) telescoping aerial ladder unit on fire engine.
- Helped secure compensation from and government investigation of a major automobile manufacturer that failed to recall a dangerous stuck throttle defect on a popular SUV.
- Resolved legal and accounting malpractice claims against major accounting firm on behalf of heirs to high profile businessman and entrepreneur.
- Successfully represented dozens of tread separation and/or rollover accident victims in product liability cases against Ford Motor Company, Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Bridgestone Corporation, Dunlop Tire Company, Cooper Tire and Rubber Company, Kuhmo Tire Company, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Michelin North America, Yokohama, Sailun, Falken, and most tire manufacturers.
- Member of team representing victims of fuel-fed fires caused by rear-impact collisions in Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors; helped cause Ford to spend $350,000,000 to improve safety of police vehicles.
- After a two-month trial, recovered record settlement for victims of elder abuse at a nursing home.
- Member of trial team for victims of Mexican Hat, Utah ski bus accident.
- Represented family of man who died in Sedona Sweat Lodge tragedy.
- $1,225,000 settlement for parents of teen killed in intersection accident.
- Represented child pedestrian catastrophically impaired by inattentive police officer.
- Confidential settlement for man paralyzed using unstable golf cart.
- Confidential settlements against auto manufacturers for defects causing seatback failure, unwanted acceleration, rollovers, airbag failures, and seatbelt malfunction.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Practice in all areas of litigation and trial work, including personal injury, commercial litigation and appellate advocacy.
Handled virtually all varieties of personal injury cases, including product liability, motor vehicle accidents, Dram Shop actions, premises liability, elder abuse, medical malpractice, commercial trucking, sexual assault, and insurance bad faith.
Represented clients throughout Arizona and in California, Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
BAR & COURT ADMISSIONS
- Arizona, 1999
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1999
- U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 2001
ASSOCIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS
- Lawyers Associated Worldwide, Firm Representative
- State Bar of Arizona, Member
- The American Association for Justice, Member
- Arizona Association for Justice, Member and Board of Directors, 2020-Present
- The National Trial Lawyers Association, Member
- Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness, Member, 2021-Present
- 100 Club of Arizona, Member
- Arizona's Finest Lawyers, Member
- International Society of Barristers, North American Fellow
- Litigation Counsel of America, Fellow
HONORS & AWARDS
- AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
- Best Lawyers in America®, Appellate Practice, 2016-2022; Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs, 2012-2022; Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs, 2020-2022; Professional Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs, 2020-2022
- Best Lawyers in America®, Phoenix Lawyer of the Year, Products Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs, 2022
- Southwest Super Lawyers®, Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, 2014-2021
- Southwest Super Lawyers®, Top 50 Arizona, 2016
- Southwest Super Lawyers® Rising Stars, Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, 2012-2013
- The National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2012-2017
- The National Trial Lawyers, Top 40 Under 40, 2012-2013
- Arizona's Finest Lawyers, Sustaining Member, 2013-Present
- Litigation Counsel of America, Order of Veritas
- Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education (AFLSE), Top Pro Bono Attorney of the Year, 2018
- Phoenix Business Journal, 40 Under 40, 2013
- Phi Beta Kappa, Cornell University, 1996
- Phi Kappa Phi, Cornell University, 1996
- Gold Key National Honor Societies, Cornell University, 1996
- Cornell National Scholarship, Cornell University, 1996
COMMUNITY & PHILANTHROPY
- Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired Board of Directors, 2005-2011, 2013-Present
- (Chairman 2010-2011)
- Valley of the Sun United Way, Bench and Bar Donor Circle Founding Member
- 100 Club of Arizona Board of Directors, 2015-2017
- ICAN: Positive Programs for Youth, Fund Development Committee Member, 2018-Present; Board of Directors, 2020-Present
- Cayley Manor Homeowners Association Board of Directors, 2008-2011
- (President 2009-2011)
PUBLISHED WORKS
- Demonstrative Evidence, Facts & Findings, March 1, 2013
- The Evolution of Products Liability, A Historical Accounting, Arizona Tort Law Handbook (Co-Author), 2012
- Wrongful Death, Arizona Tort Law Handbook (Co-Author), 2012
- E-Sign of the Times, Newsletter, February, 2001
PRESS RELEASES
- Best Lawyers in America® 2022 Recognizes 37 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys, August 19, 2021
- Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 36 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys, August 21, 2020
- Fourteen Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Selected for Southwest Super Lawyers 2020, April 6, 2020
- Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 33 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys as Leaders in Their Field, August 15, 2019
- Sixteen Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Selected for Southwest Super Lawyers 2019, April 15, 2019
- Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 35 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys as Leaders in Their Field, August 15, 2018
- Two Gallagher & Kennedy Shareholders Recognized by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education, July 2, 2018
- Twenty-Two Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Selected for Southwest Super Lawyers 2018, April 24, 2018
- 35 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Recognized as 2018 ‘Best Lawyers in America®’, August 16, 2017
- 24 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Named 2017 Southwest Super Lawyers, April 10, 2017
- 33 Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Named 2017 ‘Best Lawyers in America®’, August 17, 2016
- Twenty-Six G&K Attorneys Selected to 2016 Southwest Super Lawyers’ List, April 11, 2016
- G&K Attorneys Named to 2016 ‘The Best Lawyers in America®’ List, August 17, 2015
- Super Lawyers 2015 Recognizes 18 Attorneys, April 10, 2015
- G&K Attorneys Named to 2015 ‘The Best Lawyers in America®’ List, August 18, 2014
- G&K Attorneys Selected for Southwest Super Lawyers 2014, April 11, 2014
- G&K Elects Shareholder Shannon Clark to the Firm’s Board of Directors, February 13, 2014
- 36 G&K Attorneys Named to 2014 Best Lawyers in America® List, August 15, 2013
- Shareholder Shannon Clark Honored in Phoenix Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” Class of 2013, June 11, 2013
- Twenty Gallagher & Kennedy Attorneys Selected for Southwest Super Lawyers 2013 and an Additional Nine Attorneys Named Southwest Rising Stars 2013, April 12, 2013
- Nearly Two-Thirds of G&K’s Shareholders Named “Best Lawyers in America”, August 22, 2012
- G&K Leads Effort to Recall Ford Escape, July 19, 2012
- Nineteen G&K Attorneys Named “Super Lawyers”, April 16, 2012
- More Than Half of G&K’s Shareholders Named “The Best Lawyers in America”, August 31, 2011
RELATED NEWS
- The Men of Chandler 2021, June 1, 2021
- The Laws of Giving, October 1, 2018
- Gallagher & Kennedy Shareholders Honored by AFLSE, July 12, 2018
- Supreme Court Rules Arizona Hospitals Can be Sued Under State’s Elder Abuse Laws, June 30, 2014
- 40 Under 40 – 2013 Honorees, June 28, 2013
LIVE MEDIA
- Gallagher & Kennedy Participates in the 2018 Channel 12 Turkey Tuesday Challenge, November 20, 2018
- Old Tires Pose Tread Separation Risk, October 22, 2014
- Ford Recalls ’01-’04 Escapes After Deadly Arizona Crash, May 13, 2012
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- APA Seminar, Managing Success Through the Art of Preparation and Presentation, 2012
- NALA Seminar, Demonstrative Evidence – How to Do It Right, 2011
- State Bar Association, Motor Vehicle Accident Cases: Winning Presentation with the Use of Expert Witnesses and Graphic Illustrations, 2011
- NBI Plaintiff Personal Injury Seminar, Personal Injury Damages, 2006
- State Bar of Arizona, CLE in The Red Rocks, An Advanced Personal Injury Conference, Product Liability Update; Use of Videos, Infographics and Technology in Mediation and Trial
LANGUAGES
Spanish
OTHER
Judicial Clerkships
Judicial Clerk, Honorable Mary M. Schroeder, Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 1999-2000
Academic Appointments
Phoenix School of Law, Phoenix, AZ, Adjunct Professor, 2012-2013
Arizona Summit Law School, Phoenix, AZ, Adjunct Professor, 2013-2015
Study Abroad
Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain, 1994-1995
