San Diego’s Preeminent Employment Law Attorneys

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight is one of the premier plaintiffs-side employment law firms in San Diego. Our team practices on a national scale, serving clients in San Diego County and elsewhere throughout the United States. Our San Diego office, now located in the seaside community of La Jolla, has been in operation since 2015.

The San Diego business community is robust and diverse. San Diego is also home to many established and up-and-coming biotech, science, and pharmaceutical companies.

One of the bedrocks of our San Diego practice, led by Managing Partner Charles Field, is representing employees in class action lawsuits against companies that have mismanaged their retirement funds. These matters are brought under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which obligates employers to manage employee 401(k) plans with loyalty and fiscal prudence.

At Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight we have the resources to go up against the biggest corporations in San Diego and throughout the country and have attorneys with unparalleled experience and credentials. We are a national firm, with seven offices located throughout the U.S and attorneys who collaborate closely.

As tenacious litigators who regularly handle high-profile cases, we have recovered judgments and settlements totaling millions of dollars.

Our Practice Areas

We support employees living and working in the San Diego area in cases related to social justice and the public interest. Our caseload has spanned a broad range of practice areas, including employment law, financial services, and human rights. Some of the cases we frequently handle include:

• Mismanagement of retirement plan assets (ERISA)
• Workplace discrimination
• Workplace retaliation
• Investment fraud
• Internal investigations
• Human trafficking

In our practice, we have litigated cases against some of the nation’s most powerful corporate entities, including UnitedHealth, Walgreens, General Electric, Transamerica and more. Our unwavering commitment to advocating for what is right and litigating these cases aggressively has earned us a nationwide reputation for integrity, excellence in representation and the ability to deliver results.

Meet Our Local Team

Managing Partner Charles Field is one of the nation’s leading ERISA lawyers and has spearheaded a number of groundbreaking cases against Fortune 500 companies for mismanagement of employees’ retirement plans, resulting in multimillion-dollar settlements.

Senior Litigation Counsel Cara Van Dorn specializes in cases involving discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, and wrongful termination. Part of the legal team that brought down GirlsDoPorn, Cara also represented 50 victims in a subsequent case against the company that operates the website Pornhub.com.

Associate Denise Choung specializes in financial services litigation. She previously completed a clerkship in the Fourth Judicial District Court of Minnesota. Denise was an arbitration intern at Herbert Smith Freehills in London and International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in New York, focusing on international commercial arbitration.

Associate Hilary Rosenthal previously completed a clerkship for the Honorable J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to her clerkship, Hilary was a Staff Attorney at the ACLU of Hawai’i and the Leonard Sandler Fellow at Human Rights Watch.

Office Location

The San Diego office of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight is located in the historic coastal community of La Jolla. We are within walking distance of the area’s beaches, coves of marine life, restaurants, and hotel accommodations. There is ample street parking adjacent to our building at 7911 Herschel Avenue (home to a branch of citibank).

We are also in the vicinity of several nearby parking garages:

• Morgan Stanley Parking
• 1231 Cave St Parking
• 1247 Cave St Parking
• 1166 Prospect St Parking

Bus stops near us, include:

• Torrey Pines Rd and Prospect St
• Pearl St and Fay Av
• Girard Av and Torrey Pines Rd
• Pearl St and Eads Ave

We are also within driving distance of several courthouses:

• Superior Court Kearny Mesa Courthouse
• Hall of Justice
• San Diego Central Courthouse
• U.S. District Court Southern District of California

Notable Case Results

Our San Diego attorneys have represented clients in numerous complex, high-profile and precedent-setting cases. Just a few of these include:

• Burns v. San Diego State University: We won a $3.35 million judgment against San Diego State University on behalf of our client, Beth Burns. Burns had served as the women’s basketball coach for the college before it wrongfully terminated her and retaliated against her for reporting Title IX violations.
• Jane Does v. GirlsDoPorn: After a trial that lasted 99 days, we won a $13 million judgment for our clients – 22 women who GirlsDoPorn.com had manipulated and defrauded into participating in pornographic videos—as well as permanent injunctions against the defendants.
• Allegretti v. Walgreen Co.: In collaboration with our New York office, we recovered a settlement of $13.75 million in an ERISA class action lawsuit involving breach of fiduciary duty.
• Karg v. Transamerica: In collaboration with our Nashville office, we recovered a settlement of $5.4 million in an ERISA class action involving breach of fiduciary duty.

Valuable judgments and settlements mean nothing to us if we do not get to help our clients and serve the general public’s interests. We practice to make a difference, not to win accolades.

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.

Discuss Our Outstanding Advocacy Today

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight is available to discuss the needs of prospective clients who are seeking skillful lawyers to protect their rights. To request an initial consultation, please visit our contact page.

Testimonial

“Great Value and Service”

Charles Field and Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight have been excellent partners as our business has grown. They understand our firm and have helped us navigate the legal landscape in our industry. Charles is particularly responsive when we need him and is willing to bring in other resources to address our issues. Because of their efficiency and teamwork, we feel Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight offers great value and service. — Horacio Valeiras, CEO, Frontier Global Partners, LLC