Shawn E. Draney

Shawn Draney’s practice focuses on water resources law.  Utah includes both temperate and semi-arid regions and the challenge is to store water and move it around – from where it is abundant to where it is desperately needed.  In this effort, Shawn’s clients include cities, special districts, developers, irrigation companies and ranchers.  He assists these water law clients with advice, planning, transactions, negotiations and litigation.

Since 1955, the firm has served as general counsel to the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy.  In all of this time, Shawn is only the second SCM lawyer to hold this general counsel position. In this capacity, he is responsible for all aspects of the water district’s legal work – transactions as well as litigation.  The firm’s knowledge of the district is deep and broad.

Shawn has also developed a special focus in the area of condemnation law.  Moving water from one place to another requires pipelines – and pipelines often require condemnation of land and the resulting litigation.  As a result of the experience gained in pipeline projects, Shawn also assists clients with non-water real estate and land use issues and litigation involving condemnation.

Water resources are heavily regulated by state and federal laws and agencies and Shawn is actively engaged in these efforts.  He has drafted state and federal legislation, and lobbied for its passage.  He has an extensive administrative and regulatory practice before the Utah State Engineer, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service.