Our San Francisco Office

The San Francisco office of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight coupled with our new Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto, signifies our commitment to providing plaintiff-side advocacy for workers across the Bay Area, from the warehouse to the corporate suite. We have helped clients in all business sectors address various employment law issues. These include discrimination based on race, gender, disability, religion, and nation of origin; wage and hour violations; retaliation, wrongful termination, and whistleblowers claims.

We work closely with our Palo Alto office and are prepared to meet with you at either location. We also offer virtual visits and appointments.

Our Practice Areas

We serve clients in cases of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, wage and hour violations, qui tam/whistleblower claims, financial services litigation, and regulatory and compliance matters. Our San Francisco team has represented clients against a wide range of employers, including in tech, finance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and education.

Advocating For Asian American Plaintiffs

The AAPI community makes up 25.7% of the population of San Francisco, with over 2 million people. To serve the needs of this clientele, our San Francisco office established an Asian American Litigation and Finance practice in 2019 to help AAPI individuals and communities in overcoming cultural barriers and linguistic disparities as they seek recourse against powerful corporations and organizations. Attorneys in this practice group, led by Managing Partner Qiaojing Ella Zheng, are fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, with expertise in Asia/U.S. cross-border jurisdictional issues.

Our Firm Chairman and San Francisco Attorneys

David Sanford, the firm’s Chairman, has recovered more than one billion dollars for individual clients and the U.S. Government since 2004. He has served as lead counsel in more than 50 class actions and numerous qui tam fraud cases around the country. David has also represented over 100 general counsel, in-house counsel, and lawyers in claims against their law firms and companies. Notably, he served as lead counsel in a gender discrimination class action against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation that resulted in a $253 million verdict—the largest Title VII verdict in U.S. history. David has been honored by virtually every legal media publication in the U.S., having been named as an “Employment MVP” by Chambers and Partners as well as “Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar” by Law360. The National Law Journal also inducted David into its Elite Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. He has also been honored by Super Lawyers as Top-Rated Employment and Labor Attorney every year since 2014.

Managing Partner Qiaojing Ella Zheng chairs our Asian American Litigation and Finance Practice Group. She was named a Rising Star by Law360 and selected as an Asian Leader Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal. She was selected as Lawyers on the Fast Track by The Recorder and 2022 Top Labor and Employment Lawyers by Daily Journal. Ella has also been honored by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in Northern California every year since 2016. She was named among the Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in California by the National Trial Lawyers. Ella was also an honoree of the Tribute to Women Awards by YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley in 2018 and received the 2020 Minority Bar Coalition Unity Award.

Office Location

Our San Francisco office is conveniently located at 50 California Street in the Financial District. We are located within walking distance of BART, Muni trolley trains, Marin Transit, the Bay Area bus lines and the California Street Cable Car.

We are near several notable courthouses, including:

Nearby parking garages include:

Subway stations nearest to us, include:

Lastly, we are near the following local bus stops:

Notable Cases

Horn v. Kraft Heinz Foods Company, LLC: Filed a $30 million class action discrimination lawsuit alleging former Black employees of a Tulare, Ca., dairy facility operated by Kraft Heinz were subjected to a hostile and discriminatory environment.
Joseph v. Xilinx, Inc.: Filed a $365 million whistleblower and gender discrimination lawsuit on behalf of a former senior vice president of a San Jose-based semiconductor giant.
Maryam Abrishamcar v. Oracle America, Inc.; Marcella Johnson v. Oracle America, Inc.: Filed two lawsuits on behalf of sales representatives involving violations of commissioned sales agreements and rights by Oracle America, Inc.
Brooke v. Aurora Behavioral Healthcare-Santa Rosa, LLC, et al.: With co-counsel, secured $2.85 million settlement for former nursing leader at acute psychiatric facility in her whistleblower retaliation claim and Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) lawsuit.

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.

Testimonials

“He helped me maintain balance throughout the process”

David [Sanford] dedicated a large amount of time to get to know me and the circumstances of my case. He helped me maintain balance throughout the process. He always demonstrated clear thinking, self-confidence, and strength. He is extremely smart, experienced and a great strategist. -Claudia Goulart, Former Head of Health Care for GE in Latin America

“Superb intelligence and deep care for my best interest”

As a client of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight I had worked with attorneys Ella Zheng and legal assistants at its San Francisco office for about three years. I was deeply satisfied with my experience. Ella managed my case with not only superb intelligence but also deep care for my best interest. On multiple occasions she went beyond her way to help, even after my case was successfully closed. Wish there were a 6-star rating on Google review! ‑ David Chen, a former client

“I can’t thank them enough”

Balancing a career you love and early motherhood can feel impossible. When my employer demoted me because I’d asked for a place to pump breast milk, I felt despondent. A friend recommended that I contact the team at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. I wish I had called them earlier. Kate Mueting and Felicia Gilbert listened to me, were respectful towards me, and assured me that my experience was objectively not okay (and not just an illusion of my hysterical lady-brain, as my employer insisted.) They got me the financial relief necessary to make a fresh start in my career. I can’t thank them enough. – Former client

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