Sean S. Varner, Managing Partner of Varner & Brandt LLP Riverside, counsels businesses and entrepreneurs through simple to complex initiatives and transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, legal strategy, business matters, real estate and general counsel advisement. With over 25 years of legal and business experience, Sean combines deep industry knowledge with a genuine commitment to understanding each client’s unique goals and challenges.
His practice spans a remarkably diverse range of industries and company sizes, from Fortune 500 corporations to family-owned businesses. He advises on opportunities facing the food and beverage industry, manufacturing, real estate development, hospitality, technology, entertainment, social media, microbreweries, restaurant groups, and more. Whether working with C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, officers and directors, or venture capitalists, Sean brings the same approach: personalized attention, high-value strategic insight, and a track record of closing complex deals successfully.
Beyond his day to day legal work, in 2016, Governor Brown appointed Sean to the prestigious “Little Hoover” Commission, tasked with investigating California state government operations to promote efficiency, economy, and improved service. He served for seven years. In December 2024, Governor Newsom appointed Sean to the California Volunteers Commission, where he helps mobilize community resources to engage in volunteerism to tackle some of the California’s critical issues.
Sean has also represented oversight boards managing the winding down of major redevelopment agencies, including the 1st and 3rd Districts of the City of Los Angeles, the City of Industry and the County of Los Angeles.
A devoted community advocate, Sean serves on numerous boards and advisory committees while making time for his family and supporting charitable organizations that strengthen the Inland Empire and beyond.
Focus
- Corporate & Business
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Real Estate Transactions
- Real Estate Development & Land Use
- Finance
- Entertainment/Social Media Representation
- Technology
Community Involvement & Pro Bono
- California Volunteers Commission, Commissioner
- Little Hoover Commission, Vice Chairman & Commissioner (Former)
- Pepperdine University School of Law, Board of Advisors (Former)
- California State Senate Rules Committee, Regents Selection Advisory Committee (Former)
- Monday Morning Group, Vice President & Director
- Young Presidents' Organization, California Inland Empire Chapter, Two Time Past Chairman, Education Chair, Membership Chair
- Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation, Board of Directors
- First Tee of the Inland Empire, Board of Directors
- National Orange Show, Current Chairman, Director and Three-Time Past Chairman of the Board of Directors
- UC Riverside Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics
- UC Riverside Athletics Association, Chairman and Member of the Board of Directors
- San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff's Council, and S.S.B. Deputy
- Riverside ExCITE Business Incubator, Secretary and Founding Member of the Board of Directors
- The Inland Empire Community Foundation, Advisory Committee, Past Chair and Past Member of the Board of Directors
- Boys and Girls Club of San Bernardino, Past Board of Directors Member
- Leadership Riverside, Graduate and Former Steering Committee Member
- Spirit of the Entrepreneur Awards, Former Judge; Presenter
- Legends FC Soccer Club, Past Manager & Volunteer Administrator
- Frequent speaker at mergers & acquisitions seminars and entrepreneurial groups
Honors & Awards
- AV Preeminent®, Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell®
- Leadership Riverside, Art Pick Distinguished Alumnus of the Year
Publications
- CEQA After Two Decades: Relevant Problems and Ideas For Necessary Reform, 19 Pepperdine L. Rev. (1992) (reprinted in the National Law Anthology, Environmental Law Anthology, October 1993)
Education
- Pepperdine University School of Law, JD, cum laude, 1993
- University of California, Los Angeles, BA, 1989
- Cambridge University, England, Pembroke College
Admissions
- American Bar Association
- The State Bar of California
- Riverside County Bar Association
- United States District Court (Central, Eastern, Southern, Northern Districts of California)
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
