Sean P. Byrne
Practice Areas
Education
- University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1996
- University of Richmond, B.A., 1994
Bar & Court Admissions
Sean is of counsel in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the probate and tax group. He counsels clients on utilizing tax credits, economic development incentives, abatements, economic development financing mechanisms, public-private partnerships and special economic development entities to assist in the development and redevelopment of property and the creation of jobs and economic growth. Sean also devotes a portion of his practice to real property tax valuation disputes and appeals, including regularly litigating such matters throughout the state of Illinois.
Prior to joining Vorys, Sean worked as the legal counsel and ethics officer at the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA). In this role, he helped oversee the department’s $1 billion economic and community development funds. Sean also routinely counseled ODSA leadership on business and legal issues related to loans, grants, tax credits and ethics. Before joining ODSA, Sean spent five years serving as president and general counsel of a private equity firm/family office. In this role, he provided legal counsel throughout the United States on real estate and development projects including hotels, data centers and multiple residential projects. Sean also spent nine years working at large national law firms and assisting clients on real estate and corporate matters.
Outside of his legal practice, Sean has spent more than five years as a director of Professional Bank in Coral Gables, FL.
Sean received his J.D. from University of Michigan Law School and his B.A. from the University of Richmond.
Professional and Community Activities
- North Star Reach, Board of Directors, 2013-2015, Board Chair, 2014
- Professional Bank, Board of Directors, 2008-2013
- Flying Horse Farms, Board of Directors, 2006-2011, Secretary, 2006-2010
News
- 3/26/2021Vorys attorneys Scott Ziance and Sean Byrne co-authored an article titled "How to Use Incentives Wisely" for NAIOP's Spring 2021 Development magazine.
- 2/1/2021Vorys attorneys Scott Ziance and Sean Byrne were quoted in a Columbus Business First story titled “what to know about Ohio's new tax credit for 'transformational' development.”
- 9/15/2020Sherwin-Williams Names Vorys as a Key Partner for its New Global Headquarters and R&D Center ProjectThe Sherwin-Williams Company today announced the key external partners it selected to build its new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland and its new R&D center in the Cleveland suburb of Brecksville. Vorys was named as legal counsel and economic development counsel.
- 9/4/2019Sean Byrne – the former chief legal counsel and ethics officer at the Ohio Development Services Agency (ODSA) – has joined Vorys’ economic development incentives practice.
Events
- 2/25/2022Vorys’ Economic Development Incentives Conference, the largest such annual conference in the nation, returned for the seventh year. We hosted a multitude of sessions focused on trends and best practices regarding economic development incentives for developers, companies and community leaders.
- 7/28/2021Vorys attorneys Scott Ziance and Sean Byrne, and Ohio Department of Development Business Services Division Chief John Werkman hosted the second part of their Transformational Mixed Use Development Tax Credit Program webinar program.
- 5/25/2021Vorys attorneys Sean Byrne and Scott Ziance hosted a webinar for the NAIOP which discussed a four-pronged approach to leveraging state and local economic development incentives in order to attract tenants and increase IRR.
- 2/16/2021Vorys’ sixth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference, the largest such annual conference in the nation, went virtual. We hosted multiple one-hour sessions daily with guest speakers from ten different states across the country. Topics covered trends and best practices regarding economic development incentives.
- 1/27/2021Vorys attorneys Scott Ziance and Sean Byrne and Ohio Development Services Agency Business Services Division Chief John Werkman hosted the first of two panels in which they discussed the new Transformational Mixed Use Development (TMUD) tax credit.
- 12/1/2020Sean Byrne moderated a webinar on the use of economic development tax incentives by PE firms and portfolio companies before and after acquisition.
- 4/16/2020The fifth installment of Vorys' multi-disciplinary webinar series on the various business and legal implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) took place on Thursday, April 16, 2020.
- 2/21/2020Vorys hosted its fifth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference on February 21, 2020.
Insights
- 6/6/2022On June 1, 2022, the Ohio General Assembly passed Substitute Senate Bill Number 225 (S.B. 225) to expand the Ohio Opportunity Zones Tax Credit Program and the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program and amend certain other provisions.
- 4/11/2022
- Spring 2022On March 2, 2022, the Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA) made 13 awards for a total of $100,000,000 of tax credits pursuant to Section 122.09 of the Ohio Revised Code, the Transformational Mixed-Use Development (TMUD) Tax Credit.
- 7/28/2021Among the new economic development programs created in Amended Substitute House Bill 110 (H.B. 110 or the Budget Bill) are enhanced potential incentives for megaprojects.
- 7/1/2021On June 30, 2021, Governor Mike DeWine signed Amended Substitute House Bill 110 (H.B. 110 or the Budget Bill), which creates the biennial budget for State fiscal years (SFY) 2022-2023 (July 1, 2021-June 30, 2023).
- Summer 2021On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) (ARP) into law.
- Summer 2021As a former president and general counsel of a private equity firm, followed by five years at the Ohio Development Services Agency, Vorys of counsel Sean Byrne is uniquely positioned to counsel PE firms on how they can creatively utilize economic development incentives to maximize investments.
- 4/7/2021The State of Ohio offers several economic development incentive programs targeted at supporting and increasing diversity and inclusion in the business community.
- 3/11/2021On Wednesday, March 10th, the House passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the third major federal COVID-19 relief act following the CARES Act and the December 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act. President Biden is expected to sign it into law Friday.
- Winter 2021On December 29, 2020, Governor Mike DeWine signed Amended Substitute Senate Bill 39 (S.B. 39), which creates the Transformational Mixed-Use Development (TMUD) Tax Credit.
- Winter 2021We virtually welcomed in February more than 200 guests at Vorys’ sixth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference – the nation’s largest annual conference focused on economic development incentives.
- 12/27/2020Late on December 27, the President signed a $900 billion relief package that will provide aid to individuals and businesses still struggling with the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Both the House and the Senate passed the proposal last week.
- 12/10/2020On December 9th, the Ohio Senate concurred with the House amendments to Amended Substitute Senate Bill 39 (S.B. 39), which will be sent to Governor DeWine for his consideration.
- 11/20/2020
- 11/19/2020Nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) or confidentiality agreements are commonplace in commercial transactions, especially in deals that are negotiated privately before any public disclosure, or if parties need to share proprietary information.
- 8/19/2020Indemnification Provisions in Incentives Agreements: Best Practices and Special Public Entity IssuesIndemnification provisions are an important part of the fine print of many contracts.
- 8/19/2020
- 6/29/2020On June 24th, the Ohio Senate concurred in the Ohio House amendments and passed Amended Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4), which will now be sent to Governor DeWine for his signature.
- 5/5/2020JobsOhio, the private nonprofit economic development organization in Ohio, is developing a new initiative named the Ohio Site Inventory Program (OSIP).
- 4/8/2020The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted both our health and our economy. JobsOhio and ODSA are helping businesses cope.
- 3/30/2020On Friday, March 27th, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 197 (H.B. 197), which enacts several provisions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the provisions, the new law permits the use of electronic communications in lieu of in-person meetings during the emergency declared by the Governor’s Executive Order 2020-01D (but not beyond December 1, 2020).
- 3/23/2020In this time of broad government actions due to a declared pandemic emergency, it is important to examine your incentive agreements to understand the potential risks your company faces if your company is unable to perform key obligations.
- Winter 2020This is the final installment of a two-part series covering the top 10 key points for professionals to understand about Opportunity Zones (OZs).
- Winter 2020We welcomed in February more than 300 guests at Vorys’ fifth annual Economic Development Incentives Conference – again making it the nation’s largest conference focused solely on economic development incentives.
- Fall 2019In this two-part series, we’ll cover the top 10 key points for tax professionals to understand about Opportunity Zones (OZs).