Nashville Employment Law and Public Interest Attorneys

The city of Nashville has seen a massive influx in corporations and startups in the past several years amid a decade of tremendous growth. Some of the largest employers in Nashville include Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University, Nissan North America, HCA Healthcare, Inc., and Saint Thomas Health. As a result, the need for knowledgeable local employment law attorneys has never been higher.

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight is one of the country’s preeminent plaintiff-side employment firms, and our legal team regularly represents clients against some of the most prominent companies in Tennessee and the United States.  As local counsel, we have roots in the Nashville community. As a sophisticated employment law team, we have a network of law offices around the country to assist us in managing large, complex cases, including class action lawsuits.

Our clients range from factory workers to C-suite executives, and come from a wide variety of industries and employers across the country, including large Fortune 500 companies and quasi-governmental entities like the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.

Practice Areas

Our Nashville office handles a wide variety of matters. Our employment litigation practice focuses on representing employees in these and other areas:

• Workplace discrimination, including race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and national origin.
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Mismanagement of employee 401(k) and retirement plans
• Internal investigations
• Whistleblowing and retaliation wrongful termination
• Human rights abuses

Our Nashville office also handles a wide range of complex public interest litigations, most notably representing dozens of counties and cities across the nation in their claims against opioid manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and pharmacy benefit managers.

Meet Our Local Team

Our Nashville team comprises multiple accomplished lawyers.

Judge Kevin Sharp is Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight‘s Co-Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of the firm’s Public Interest Litigation Group. Prior to joining our firm, Kevin was appointed to the federal bench by President Obama and served on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee from May 2011 to April 2017, including three years as Chief Judge. His career is devoted to serving the public, including fighting harsh mandatory minimum federal sentences. He has put in extensive effort to exonerate Leonard Peltier, the Native American civil rights activist who was wrongfully convicted of killing two FBI agents in 1975 on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation.

Nashville Managing Partner Leigh Anne St. Charles has been named to each Super Lawyers’ Mid-South Rising Stars list since 2020, was named one of the Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers in Tennessee by the National Trial Lawyers Association, was recognized in the 2021 and 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” in the field of Employment Law – Individuals, and was named a 2022 Rising Star of the Courtroom by Business Insider.

With an extensive background in complex commercial litigation, Leigh Anne now focuses her practice on plaintiffs-side discrimination and harassment cases, as well as financial services matters. As part of her financial services practice, Leigh Anne represents classes of workers from around the country who have invested through their employer’s 401(k) plan in their claims of breach of fiduciary duty and 401(k) plan mismanagement.

Nashville Partner Brent Hannafan co-chairs the firm’s Trial Practice Group. He was one of the lead attorneys who successfully represented Graham Chase Robinson at trial on claims of gender discrimination and retaliation against actor Robert De Niro and his company, Canal Productions. In addition to discrimination and retaliation matters, Brent represents plaintiff classes in 401(k) mismanagement matters, and cities and towns in public interest litigation, including the City of Baltimore in claims against the nation’s largest manufacturer of easy-to-assemble, untraceable ghost gun kits and parts.

Prior to joining our firm, Brent served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

Nashville Partner Jonathan Tepe was named to Super Lawyers’ 2022 Mid-South Rising Stars list. Jonathan focuses his practice on employment discrimination, public interest litigation, and complex civil litigation, particularly the firm’s representation of dozens of counties and cities across the nation in their claims against opioid manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies, and pharmacy benefit managers.

Associates Michael Lockman, David McNamee, and Kasi Wautlet work on a wide range of matters, including employment discrimination, financial services litigation, public interest litigation, and complex civil litigation.

Plaintiff’s Attorneys with Corporate Defense Counsel Experience

Most of our Tennessee team has prior experience working for large law firms that defend corporate clients. Our attorneys’ exposure to this side of the legal practice provides great insight into how corporate counsel approaches cases, and the strategies used to defend powerful entities. Our plaintiff’s attorneys know the laws that protect workers, and how to go head-to-head confidently and successfully on behalf of our clients.

Office Location

Our Midtown office is located in the heart of the Nashville, just one block up from Broadway, Nashville’s main thoroughfare.

Our building is connected to Renaissance Nashville Hotel and Fifth + Broadway, Nashville’s new city attraction with dining and shopping options. We are conveniently located near highways I-65, I-40, and I-24, as well as the James Robertson Parkway and Ellington Parkway.

Nearby are several suburban train lines, including:

• Wedgewood Avenue Station
• State Capitol Station
• 10th Avenue Station
• Riverfront Transit Stop

We are also on several public bus routes:

• 5th Ave N and the Arcade NB
• Union St and 7th Ave N EB
• 4th Ave N and Church St SB
• Broadway Ave and 9th Ave S WB

Parking options include on-street as well as convenient parking garages:

• Library Garage
• SP+ Parking
• Premier Parking L&C Garage
• Nashville City Center Surface Parking Lot

Lastly, we are near a prominent local courthouse:

• Fred D Thompson Federal Building and Courthouse

Notable Cases

Our manpower and reach make us one of the go-to firms for particularly complex, large or high-profile claims. Some of our notable cases include:

• $8.3 million in arbitration for plaintiff Dr. David Chen against the corporation he co-founded, InnoGrit.
• $2.1 million settlement of FMLA and disability discrimination claim for plaintiff Rob Wigington, the former CEO of Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
• Representing dozens of local governments against several pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy benefit managers, distributors and retail pharmacies that contributed to the opioid epidemic.

Our consistent record of achieving favorable settlements and awards has led us to receive acclaim from clients, colleagues, court officials, and the media.

Recognizing Covid-19: In-Person and Virtual Appointments Available

Our firm is committed to protecting the health and safety of our clients and staff. We recognize the importance of flexibility and comfort in accessing our legal services and offer both in-person and virtual appointments. Your safety and legal needs are a priority, and we deliver the same high quality legal services in the manner each client prefers.

Schedule a Consultation with One of Our Nashville Team Members

For outstanding counsel that has a reputation for delivering positive results for workers, contact our team at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight to request an initial consultation.

Testimonials

“The natural choice in representation”

Words cannot adequately express my gratitude to Kevin Sharp and the Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight team in Nashville. Their sound guidance, disciplined approach, expertise and overall dedication to my well-being resulted in a settlement that allowed me to leave a toxic workplace environment involving sexual harassment, discrimination, and an unwillingness to address bad behavior. – Former client

“The highest level of professionalism, integrity, and passionate care for justice”

As a client of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, I had the opportunity of working with its attorneys at multiple locations: Ms. Ella Zheng and Mr. Yikai Wang (in San Francisco), Ms. Leigh Anne St. Charles and Messrs. Kevin Sharp and Jonathan Tepe (in Nashville), and Mr. Andrew Melzer (in New York). Collectively the SHSM team represented the highest level of professionalism, integrity, and passionate care for justice that I have ever witnessed in my career. … The attorneys and assistants worked through maternity, coronavirus infection, overnight depositions and many other challenges for nearly three years to ultimately deliver a resounding success! – David Chen, former client