Attorneys

Mr. Sanford is the Chairman and co-founder of Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP. Since 2004, Mr. Sanford has recovered more than $1 billion for individual clients and the United States government.

Throughout his legal career, Mr. Heisler has had notable success in employment and civil rights class actions and complex multi-party and multi-state litigation, producing more than $500 million in benefits to class members.

Judge Sharp is the Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Nashville office, which opened in the spring of 2017. He joined Sanford Heisler Sharp after serving as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee from May 2011 through April 2017, serving from 2014 to 2017 as the Court’s Chief Judge.

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s Whistleblower & Qui Tam Practice Group, Mr. McKnight represents whistleblowers in sealed and unsealed False Claims Act/Qui Tam suits under investigation by the government.

Mr. Chapin is a veteran trial lawyer whose individual and class action practice includes unfair business practices, professional negligence, insurance coverage, toxic torts, serious personal injury and wrongful death matters.

Russell Kornblith is the New York Managing Partner who works on both qui tam / whistleblower cases and on discrimination cases. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 2012.

Deborah K. Marcuse is the Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Baltimore, Maryland office. She received her law degree from Yale Law School in 2008.

Felicia Gilbert is the Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp’s San Francisco office. She represents employees in individual and class actions involving race, gender, and pregnancy discrimination.

Mr. Melzer is Co-Chair of the Firm’s Wage and Hour Practice Group and has helped return millions of dollars of lost wages to employees in presuit negotiations, active litigation, and trials.

Mr. Palmer serves as Co-Chair of the Firm’s Wage and Hour Practice Group and also has the expertise to represent individuals in False Claims Act and employment discrimination actions.

Kate Mueting, a Co-Chair of the firm’s Discrimination and Harassment Practice Group, a practice that is leading the nation in the fight for equality, particularly gender equality in the legal profession.

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s Financial Services Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Field leverages his decades of practice focused on commercial transactions and regulation to recover investments that have been mishandled or lost.

Ali Harwin is a Partner in the New York Office of Sanford Heisler Sharp and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Discrimination and Harassment Practice Group.

Steve Kelly is a Partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Criminal/Sexual Violence Practice Group. He represents plaintiffs, especially those from traditionally marginalized groups, who seek justice as victims of violence.

Ms. Bireda joined Sanford Heisler Sharp after three years as a member of the senior political staff at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, DC.

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s Whistleblower & Qui Tam Practice Group, John McKnight works primarily on qui tam/whistleblower cases. He received his law degree from University of Maryland Law School in 2011.

Christine Dunn is Co-Chair of Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Criminal/Sexual Violence Practice Group and a Partner in the firm’s Washington, DC office. Ms. Dunn’s practice involves a range of matters, including criminal/sexual violence cases, whistleblower/qui tam matters, and employment discrimination actions.

David Tracey is Co-Chair of the Firm’s Public Interest Litigation Practice Group and a Partner in the New York office who works primarily on discrimination and wage and hour cases. He received his law degree from NYU Law School in 2013.

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s Whistleblower & Qui Tam Practice Group, Inayat Ali Hemani works primarily on whistleblower/qui tam cases. He received his law degree from NYU Law School in 2012.

Danielle Fuschetti is a Partner in the San Francisco office who works primarily on matters ranging from private negotiations to class action lawsuits.

Melinda Koster represents employees with a wide range of claims, including discrimination on the basis of gender, pregnancy, and age, in both public litigation and privately negotiated settlements. She received her law degree from Stanford Law School in 2012.

Andrew Miller co-manages Sanford Heisler Sharp’s opioid litigation and also represents whistleblowers under the False Claims Act and the SEC whistleblower program, employees who have suffered discrimination or other mistreatment on the job, and survivors and family members of those who have been harmed by crime.

Qiaojing Ella Zheng (郑巧晶 律师) is Chair of the Firm’s Asian American Litigation and Finance Practice Group. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and has extensive experience representing China-based clients in legal matters arising under U.S.laws.

Mr. Henderson litigates employment, housing, consumer, environmental, education and voting individual and class action cases and has briefed and argued appeals in the appellate courts including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Ms. St. Charles was an associate at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, LLP in Washington, DC, where her practice involved a variety of complex commercial litigation matters in both federal and state courts.

Meredith Firetog is a Senior Litigation Counsel in the New York office. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College, received a Masters of Studies in Women’s Studies from the University of Oxford, and her law degree from Stanford Law School in 2014.

Katie Mesner-Hage is a Senior Litigation Counsel who works on gender discrimination cases, qui tam/whistleblower actions, and the firm’s opioid litigation on behalf of dozens of counties and cities across the nation.

Nicole represents clients both in litigation matters and in confidential negotiations. She frequently negotiates severance packages and settlement agreements for employees with claims of discrimination and retaliation.

Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Ms. Guentert was a clinical teaching fellow in Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic.

Ms. Kennedy’s long history of successful representation of False Claims Act whistleblowers makes her particularly effective when working for clients in cases under investigation by the United States government.

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s Financial Services Litigation Practice Group, Mr. Morris’ extensive experience covers the full range of client claims, including discrimination, wage and hour/unpaid wages, whistleblower/qui tam, and financial malfeasance claims.

Mr. Sullivan has focused his practice on insurance regulatory law for more than 27 years. He also has significant expertise in tax law and corporate governance issues.

Scott Sullivan has litigated and written widely on civil and human rights issues both domestically and internationally.

Johan has over 17 years of experience in commercial litigation and has tried dozens of cases in state and federal courts representing businesses, individuals and localities.

As an associate attorney at Motley Rice, Ms. Van Dorn researched legal issues that are critical in securities fraud, defective medical devices, and asbestos litigation.

During law school, Rob worked as a student-attorney in Georgetown’s Civil Rights Clinic and as a legal intern at various civil rights and legal aid organizations in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Mr. Tepe clerked for the Honorable Sarah A. L. Merriam, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut.

During law school, Shaun worked as a student-attorney in the Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic, and as a legal intern at SeniorLAW Center.

Before joining the firm, Austin Webbert served as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow at the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation.

Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Clare clerked for the Honorable Karen Nelson Moore on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and for the Honorable Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger on the Southern District of Iowa.

As part of Harvard’s Domestic Violence and Family Law Clinic, Ms. MacMullin represented individuals experiencing domestic violence in seeking orders of protection and provided legal assistance on a range of family law matters.

Alok was a Litigation Associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where he worked on a variety of complex commercial litigation matters and various pro bono cases.

During law school, Whittney served as the Executive Comments Editor for the Chicago Journal of International Law and participated in the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project.

Prior to joining the firm, Lucy clerked for the Honorable Dale A. Drozd of the Eastern District of California.

Prior to joining the firm, Sean clerked for the Honorable O. Rogeriee Thompson of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the Honorable Lawrence E. Kahn of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, and the Honorable Mark L. Wolf of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Rebecca served as a fellow in the ACLU Women’s Rights Project.

Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Ms. Leary was a law fellow at Public Citizen Litigation Group and at the National Education Association’s Office of General Counsel.

At Constantine Cannon, LLP, Mr. Powell was a member of the team that successfully prosecuted and negotiated a $2.75 billion settlement on behalf of the plaintiff in Discover Financial Services v. Visa USA, Inc.