John McKnight

John McKnight is a Partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp and a Co-Chair of the firm’s Whistleblower & Qui Tam Practice Group.

Since joining the firm, he has been named to Lawdragon’s 2021 500 Leading Plaintiff, Employment, & Civil Rights Lawyers.

At Sanford Heisler Sharp, John’s practice has focused on representing corporate whistleblowers who have exposed securities fraud and banking misconduct. He has also worked with clients alleging government contract procurement fraud and other corporate malfeasance. He has also represented executives in sensitive wrongful discharge and discrimination cases. John’s representations have included:

• Representing the former Executive Vice President and Chief Security Officer of Wells Fargo who assisted the OCC, SEC, and DOJ in recovering $3.5 billion in fines and penalties arising out of the “fake account” scandal
• Representing the former Director of Contracts at Navistar who alleged that Navistar misrepresented its pricing structure to the DOD and overcharged the Government in the MRAP vehicle purchase, resulting in Navistar agreeing to pay $50 million to settle this case in 2020
• Representing a former sales representative at Office Depot who alleged the company intentionally overcharged several states millions of dollars for office products, resulting in the case settling in 2015 for $68 million
• Representing a former analyst at Fortinet who alleged that the Sunnyvale-based company was intentionally mislabeling Chinese cybersecurity products as being made in America and resulting in the case settling in 2019 for $545,000
• Obtaining a settlement for an undisclosed amount for a former Vice President of Outcome Media Health who alleged that the company was committing widespread advertising fraud and faced retaliation as a result

John received his law degree from the University of Maryland, his master’s degree from The New School, and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. While at the University of Maryland, he interned with the Human Rights Team at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and with the Honorable Henry H. Kennedy Jr. (Retired) of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Honorable William Jackson of the District of Columbia Superior Court, and the Honorable Deborah Robinson, Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. He also participated in the University of Maryland’s International and Comparative Law Clinic in China, where he worked with actors in the Chinese microcredit industry. He learned Mandarin Chinese in preparation for this clinic.

A member of the Maryland and District of Columbia bars, John regularly speaks on panels for the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, and Taxpayers Against Fraud. He is a member of the Maryland and District of Columbia bar associations and Taxpayers Against Fraud.

Before joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, John worked for McKnight & Kennedy, LLC. with his father Vincent McKnight, where he gained substantial experience in the False Claims Act and Dodd-Frank, among other enforcement statutes.

When John is not lawyering, he enjoys reading science fiction, riding motorcycles, and watching Washington Wizards basketball.