Sarah Chu
Senior Litigation Counsel
Phone: 202-499-5223
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarah-chu
Sarah Chu is a Senior Litigation Counsel at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight.
At Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Sarah’s practice focuses on qui tam and employment discrimination cases. Working with a team of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight attorneys, Sarah represented individual clients including:
- Whistleblowers alleging that their company engaged in SEC fraud by unfair and deceptive practices
- Whistleblowers alleging that their company engaged in health care fraud, such as upcoding to bill for more services at a higher rate or facilitating kickbacks and other improper financial arrangements
- Whistleblowers alleging that their company misrepresented costs, prices and discounts in violation of best pricing requirements
- Whistleblowers alleging that their company engaged in procurement fraud by bid-rigging or other wrongful means of obtaining government contracts
- Whistleblowers alleging that their company submitted false certifications of compliance with cybersecurity requirements
- An executive who faced retaliation based on reporting potential FCA violations
Sarah received her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors from Boston University. At Maryland Law, Sarah served on the Moot Court Board and she was the Class Representative of the Student Government Bar Association. She was also a student attorney in the Mediation Clinic and she is a Maryland-certified court-designated mediator. Sarah spent her law school summers interning for the Honorable Clayton Greene, Jr. in the Maryland Court of Appeals and for the Honorable Nancy Purpura in Baltimore County. She was also a Research Assistant for Professor Richard Boldt. Sarah received the CALI Excellence Award in her Health Law: Fraud and Abuse course. While at Boston University, Sarah was Vice President of her class and hosted her own radio show.
Before joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Sarah was an Associate in the qui tam, and labor and employment practices at a civil litigation law firm, where she represented whistleblowers nationwide in sealed investigations and unsealed litigation under the FCA.
Prior to law school, Sarah worked for the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee doing both press and legislative work for members of the Senate. Her experiences on the Hill prompted her to pursue a legal career.
Sarah is a member of the Maryland bar. She is also on the Executive Committee of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
When Sarah is not lawyering, she enjoys golfing, snowboarding and dancing.
Education
- J.D., University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
- B.A., Boston University
Bar Admissions*
- Maryland, 2019
*Practicing under the supervision of H. Vincent McKnight Jr. in the District of Columbia
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia
Memberships and Activities
- Executive Committee, Asian Pacific American Bar Association
They combine compassion with experience
Thank you to Kate Mueting, Sarah Chu, and Madison Zucco for their wise guidance during a difficult time. After being let go from a large consulting firm, Kate, Sarah and Madison helped me assess my options for an age and sex discrimination case without sugar coating my chances for success. This gave me the tools I needed to make a decision and the confidence that I had chosen the right path. They combine compassion with experience. Thank you.
– Former Managing Director of Consulting Firm
International Vitamin Corporation – $22.865 Million Settlement
The Complaint alleged that International Vitamin Corporation violated the False Claims Act by skirting customs duties on thousands of imports of nutritional supplements from China. IVC agreed to pay the government $22.865 million.
Publications
- The Need for Clarity: Whistleblowers in an Opaque, Digital World, Global Data Review, June 2022.
- Are Employees (and Other Whistleblowers) Protected from Retaliation?, Chambers and Partners, July 22, 2022.