Leigh Anne St. Charles is a partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp in Nashville, representing employees—especially women leaders—who face workplace discrimination. After starting her career in big law defending corporations, she was drawn to public‑interest work and joined Sanford Heisler Sharp during the MeToo movement, inspired by the firm’s advocacy for women in major law firms. She is passionate about guiding clients through traumatic experiences, combining fierce advocacy against powerful corporations with genuine human connection. Her work helps clients understand their options, find closure, and move confidently into the next chapter of their lives.
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My name is Leigh Anne St. Charles. I’m a partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp in the Nashville office, and I represent employees that are being discriminated against at work. I end up representing a lot of women that are in positions of leadership in corporate America. Gender discrimination impacts women at every level, from entry all the way up to the highest C-suite ranks.
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So the women that I often end up representing on paper, they’ve done everything right. They are the best and the brightest. They are leaders in our country, and they are still being subjected to rampant discrimination. I did not know that I wanted to be a lawyer. I did know that I wanted to help people, though, and I do think that working at Sanford Heisler Sharp allows me to, you know, take my talents
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and, and really fight for and advocate people that need an advocate. So I started out, uh, fresh out of law school in big law, representing large corporations on the defense side, and I found myself being drawn to a lot of the public interest pro bono opportunities. And then I came to Sanford Heisler Sharp after the MeToo movement, and I, as a– at that time, a young
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female associate working in corporate law, found Sanford Heisler Sharp reading about its work representing female partners in major law firms, and I thought, “That’s where I wanna be.” I love what I do. I love helping people. I get calls from people on their worst day, and they need someone to help guide them through what can be a very
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traumatic and emotional experience. And I get to really wear two hats. I get to fiercely advocate for our clients and stand up to some of the largest corporations in the country, and then I also get to connect with them on a human level and be a true counsel to them. I love helping our clients to walk through the options that they have, to be able to close the door on what is often a really emotional
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and traumatic experience and move on to the next chapter.
