Member & Partner, Bailes, Craig, Yon & Sellards
Photo by Heather Campbell.
By Lori Kersey
Robert Sellards is impassioned by his work. Growing up in a family of health care providers, Sellards witnessed both the selflessness and compassion of nurses, physicians and hospitals, but also the criticism these heroes are exposed to due to the nature of their career.
This ultimately led Sellards, a partner at the Huntington law firm Bailes, Craig, Yon & Sellards, to focus the majority of his law career on defending and supporting hospitals, physicians and nurses. He considers this work the professional love of his life.
“I want to be one of the people who takes care of those that take care of others,” Sellards says.
Sellards grew up in Point Pleasant, WV, where he initially wanted to become a physician.
“I had a wonderful childhood,” Sellards says. “Both of my parents worked and still made family a priority. We always made a goal of family dinners and spending time together. As a kid, I enjoyed playing in the neighborhood from daylight until the streetlights came on. I lived a total Hallmark childhood. I’m still very close with my parents today.”
He earned his degree in hospital management and minored in communication and accounting at Marshall University. After college, Sellards went on to study at Duquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh.
“Having grown up in Point Pleasant and then living in Huntington, one of the biggest changes for law school was moving to and living in a metropolitan area like Pittsburgh, PA,” Sellards says. “Notwithstanding, I loved law school. I made and maintain some of the best friendships a person could have from that experience. I loved the daily challenge and the pace of high-end academic learning.”
Law school also provided him with great teachers and mentors, including an influential trial instructor, S. Michael Streib, who believed in him and pushed him to excel.
“He challenged me and held me accountable,” Sellards says. “This was the first time that anyone had ever pushed me this way, and, on reflection, it started me on the path of true hard work and no shortcuts to success.”
After law school, Sellards returned home to Huntington, where he’s worked for and with health care clients ever since.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have worked for and with some of the best lawyers in the state,” Sellards says. “I’ve learned from every one of them. Notably, I was taught the Law of the Five Ps: perfect preparation prevents poor performance. I have committed myself to treating others the way that I would want to be treated. This goes for my family, my partners, opposing counsel—everybody.”
Sellards’ career in law started the way most litigators start—as an associate in a defense firm. It was that experience that taught him the only way to become a great attorney was to spend time in the field.
“Experience is the greatest asset an individual attorney can have, and to get that experience, one needs to put in the time,” he says. “Frankly, there is no substitute.”
Three years ago, after 20 years of legal practice, Sellards joined the firm of Bailes, Craig & Yon, making it Bailes, Craig, Yon & Sellards. The move was a blessing and honor for him.
“My partners and our clients are my favorite things about this role,” he says.
In his career, Sellards has worked on legislation for a number of health care issues. He’s also assisted his firm with the diversification of its client base and the development of younger attorneys. Mentoring others is the best part of Sellards’ professional day.
“I love teaching and encouraging others to meet their potential,” he says. “Without the mentoring that I received, I wouldn’t be here today. As such, I’m charged with paying that forward to the next generation.”
While Sellards has had many mentors over his career, the two people who have most helped guide his career are his father and wife.
“My father, Mike Sellards, has been there to pick me up when I was down, push me when I needed to be pushed, support me when I needed support and provide wise counsel during my development as a man, a father and as an attorney,” Sellards says. “I am better because of him. I hope I’ll be the father to my kids that he has been to me.”
Sellards and his wife, Valarie, have been together 20 years—most of his legal career.
“She’s amazingly supportive and has taught me to reflect and be deliberate,” he says. “She’s helped me stay motivated and grounded. She is certainly my best friend and I’m driven every day to be better just so I can try to keep up with what a phenomenal person she is. If you know my family, you know that without them I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Besides his professional work, Sellards is active on related committees and organizations. He’s a member of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce board of directors and West Virginia Board of Physical Therapy, an immediate past chair and executive committee member for the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce and the vice chair of the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center board.
“I spend countless hours every year in the service of nonprofit organizations,” he says. “While I love the opportunity to serve, I believe everyone has an obligation to do for others what they can’t do for themselves. I’ve been blessed in both my personal and professional life and wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t use my resources to give back.”
Outside of being an attorney, Sellards is a dedicated father of two young children. He teaches as an adjunct professor of legal and regulatory environment for health care for Marshall University’s informatics master’s program, and he’s also a runner and cyclist.
“The most significant challenge I’ve seen in this industry is work-life balance,” he says. “All the experiences that provide the basis for great attorneys come at a cost to your personal life. This is a constant and ever-present struggle that needs to be taken seriously. It is with great effort and discussion that my family and I have reached our version of equilibrium. It is by no means perfect but it’s worth the constant effort.”
One of Sellards’ yet unfinished professional goals is to teach in a law school environment, and personally, he wants to take to the sky.
“I want to get my pilot’s license so I can fly a plane,” he says. “I love learning and am fascinated by the process. I haven’t started yet, but I plan to once the schedule with our kids slows down.”
Sellards feels grateful to live and raise a family in the Mountain State. Moreover, his hometown of Huntington has given him the ability to be civically involved.
“West Virginia is amazing and has so much to be proud of,” Sellards says. “The opportunity to be able to do what I do—and be recognized for doing what I do—in my home state is a gift.”
