MEET BRIAN
Brian was born and raised in Niagara County. He went to Roy-Hart and Lockport schools, and graduated from Lockport High School in 1994. While in high school, Brian participated in the Harrison Co-op program, which allowed him to split his junior and senior years between school and engineering-geared internships at the General Motors/Delphi plant in Lockport.
Brian attended college at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana where he earned his B.A., cum laude, with a major in philosophy.
After graduating from college, Brian taught High School religion for a year at Pensacola Catholic High School in Pensacola, Florida. He then moved to Chicago, Illinois and worked there for several years for a large social service agency that provided a host of services to individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness.
While living and working in Chicago, Brian was offered a partial scholarship and enrolled in law school at Loyola University Chicago. Brian attended classes at night while working full time for the first half of the curriculum, before switching to the day program and graduating with his J.D., magna cum laude.
After law school, Brian accepted a clerkship with United States Magistrate Judge William E. Callahan, Jr., of the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Brian spent two years as Judge Callahan’s “elbow clerk” researching and drafting decisions on a wide variety of civil and criminal matters.
Desiring to become a trial lawyer, Brian applied for positions in both the DA's office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in his hometown, the Niagara County DA’s office. Brian received job offers from both offices and decided to return home to accept a position as Assistant District Attorney, offered by then District Attorney Matt Murphy.
From day one in the Niagara County District Attorney’s office, Brian was assigned to felony prosecutions in County Court, while he also was given the opportunity to man city and town courts. Brian’s initial felony caseload comprised largely of financial and “white collar” crimes, which often required extensive Grand Jury investigations before being presented for indictment. These felony prosecutions included elder exploitation, employee theft, and schemes to defraud financial institutions and the public.
While handling a full caseload of “paper” cases, Brian also quickly earned a reputation in the office as a prosecutor eager to try cases. Brian’s first felony trial was a robbery case where the defendant knocked a teenager off his bicycle, stole the bike and a wrist watch, and fled. The defendant was convicted after the jury deliberated for only a matter of minutes, and this repeat offender was sentenced to State Prison.
The trials that Brian handled for the DA’s office quickly escalated in seriousness. Within his first few years in the DA’s office, Brian had successfully prosecuted cases of armed robbery, home invasion burglary, and other serious crimes. His success in the courtroom led to more trial assignments, including murder cases and one case of the attempted murder of two Niagara Falls police officers. You can read about some of the cases that Brian handled as an Assistant District Attorney here.
After nearly seven years in the DA’s office, the needs of a growing family led Brian to a new venture. Brian, along with his father Daniel Seaman and long-time friend Michael Norris, started the law firm Seaman Norris LLP. Their law firm provides a wide variety of legal services to individuals, families, and small businesses in Niagara County and the surrounding areas, while concentrating in municipal law. In the seven years since Brian has been in private practice, he has helped clients in the areas of elder law and estate planning, estate administration, real estate, business formation, general litigation, and a host of other matters.
Brian has had the privilege of serving as municipal counsel to a number of Niagara County municipalities, including Niagara County as an Assistant County Attorney, the Towns of Lockport, Lewiston, Hartland, and Somerset, the Villages of Middleport and Barker, the Niagara County Water District, and the Town of Lockport IDA.