Kate Meading is an administrative partner and co‑chair of the Discrimination and Harassment Practice Group at Sanford Heisler Sharp, representing individuals who face workplace discrimination. With a background in AmeriCorps service, federal clerkships, and big‑law experience, she was drawn to work that centers people’s lives rather than corporate interests. She believes clients need lawyers who listen, meet them where they are, and guide them through all available options—whether or not a lawsuit is the right path. Her approach emphasizes realistic counseling, strategic thinking, and helping clients resolve their claims in the way that best serves their goals.
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My name is Kate Meading, and I am an administrative partner at the firm, and I’m a co-chair of the Discrimination and Harassment Practice Group. We represent individuals who have experienced discrimination and harassment at work. So I feel very fortunate that I get to help people who are brave enough to come forward and call out and raise their hand to call out the discrimination that they’re seeing. I went to college, and then I did two years in AmeriCorps. I was a team leader, um, for the National Civilian Community Corps, so I was working in
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communities, moving around the country and doing Habitat for Humanity and Boys & Girls Club work and tutoring, and then I went to law school, and I had a couple of clerkships, so I clerked for Judge Malloy in– on the Eighth Circuit in Iowa, and I clerked for Judge Leon in the District Court of the District of Columbia. I worked in big law for a couple of years, um, in DC, and as a pro bono rotation, I spent six months with the Children’s Law Center in DC doing individual representation. I was in a book club with Covington
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Associates, my, my big law firm associates, and one of my book club friends said, “I– We’re hiring, and you should come join Sanford Heisler Sharp.” She knew that I was very excited about the possibility of representing individuals, working with people not in the context of their jobs, which is what many lawyers do, but working with people in the context of their lives. I think that people who are looking for a lawyer for discrimination and harassment cases want to find a lawyer who will meet them where they are, will want to talk with them realistically about their options,
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and sometimes you may decide to file a lawsuit, and that may be the best option, uh, but that’s not the only option, and you really should be counseled in all of your options and weigh the pros and cons. And often you don’t need to make that decision now. Often there is a way to figure out how your claims can be resolved even before anything is filed. So I think really having a lawyer not only listen to you and listen to what’s important to you but also educate you on your options and think strategically on how to get you where you wanna be is important.
