Practice Group Chairs

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

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.

Mr. Melzer is Co-Chair of the Firm’s wage and hour practice 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 and also has the expertise to represent individuals in False Claims Act and employment discrimination actions.

Ms. Mueting is responsible for managing much of the KPMG gender discrimination litigation and also represents employees in other individual and class discrimination and overtime cases.

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s Financial Services practice, 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 Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Title VII practice.

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.

Mr. Blankenstein handled significant cases involving financial institutions and employee benefits. He brings a wealth of experience in many areas of the law to the Firm’s practice.

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s whistleblower practice, 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 Senior Litigation Counsel 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 a Financial Services Litigation Practice Group Co-Chair and a Senior Litigation Counsel 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 practice, Inayat Ali Hemani works primarily on whistleblower/qui tam cases. He received his law degree from NYU Law School in 2012.

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

As Co-Chair of the Firm’s Financial Services practice, 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.