Trial Litigation Attorneys

Successfully Representing Clients in Court

Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight has successfully tried employment, civil rights, and other public interest cases before juries, courts, and arbitrators. We have the resources to try the most complex matters against some of the largest institutions in the U.S. More than half of our attorneys have hands-on trial and arbitration experience gained in courtrooms across the U.S., and we have won landmark victories for victims of discrimination and civil rights violations.

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Our Trial Practice Group

Chairman David Sanford served as lead counsel and won a $253 million gender discrimination verdict on behalf of 7,000 women in Velez v. Novartis after a six-week trial. He also won extensive class-wide relief against Qualcomm in a $23.5 million settlement that TopVerdict.com named one of the top settlements in California in 2016. The National Law Journal inducted Mr. Sanford to the Elite Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame in 2015, and Law360 recognized him as a Titan of the Plaintiffs Bar in 2014 and 2018. Benchmark Litigation named David Labor and Employment Attorney of the Year for 2021.

During his time on the bench, Co-Vice Chairman Kevin Sharp, formerly Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, conducted 75 trials and 60 contested evidentiary hearings concerning complex, multi-party commercial litigation, a variety of class action matters, ERISA disputes, copyright and patent litigation, criminal prosecutions, and claims of constitutional and civil rights violations.

Over his 40-plus-year career, Vince McKnight has tried over 75 cases to verdict, including in the context of products liability, medical malpractice, the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, employment discrimination, and constitutional tort claims under §1981 and §1983 involving, among other things, police misconduct. He also served for many years on the Board of Governors for the Metropolitan Trial Lawyers Association.

Brent Hannafan tried over 20 criminal jury trials to verdict as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Tennessee. As Chief of the Office’s Criminal Division, Brent oversaw all federal criminal investigations and prosecutions. These cases ranged from health care fraud and public corruption to violent crimes offenses. At Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Brent is representing dozens of cities and counties against opioid manufacturers and distributors, and the City of Baltimore in its litigation against the manufacturers and distributors of easy-to-assemble “ghost guns.” In 2023, he represented Graham Chase Robinson in her gender discrimination and retaliation civil trial against Robert De Niro and his Canal Productions.

Andrew Macurdy has tried more than a dozen cases in federal and state court as both prosecutor and defense attorney. A former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of New Jersey, Andrew investigated and prosecuted crimes including securities fraud, Ponzi schemes, and insider trading, as well as weapons trafficking and forced labor. At Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Andrew represented a former field engineer in her discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit against oilfield services giant Schlumberger Limited, and he was part of the trial team representing Graham Chase Robinson in her gender discrimination and retaliation claims against Robert De Niro and his Canal Productions.

Why Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight

As a firm, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight has been consistently recognized by national legal media as a preeminent employment and human rights litigation firm. In 2021, the National Law Journal Elite Trial Lawyers recognized Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight as both Employment Rights Firm of the Year and Human Rights Firm of the Year. And in 2019 and 2021, Benchmark Litigation chose the firm Labor and Employment Firm of the Year for both 2020 and 2021.

Our Victories

The firm’s trial victories include:

  • Prevailing in a gender discrimination class action trial against pharmaceutical giant Novartis on behalf of a group of female representatives. A jury returned a $250 million verdict, the largest gender discrimination award in U.S. history.
  • Securing nearly $13 million in compensatory and punitive damages and additional injunctive relief for twenty-two young women across the U.S. after a 99-day bench trial in their case against operators of the website GirlsdoPorn.com.
  • Achieving an arbitration award of $8.3 million (including $650,000 in punitive damages and $500,000 in emotional distress damages) in Chen v. Wu, an individual case involving claims of breach of contract, promissory fraud, retaliation, and wrongful termination brought against Silicon Valley semiconductor company InnoGrit Corporation, its parent company Shanghai InnoGrit Technologies Co., Ltd., and InnoGrit CEO Dr. Zining Wu.
  • Currently representing over 5,000 aggrieved employees who worked in California as Oracle sales employees in Abrishamcar v. Oracle America, Inc. Following two multi-week trials in 2019, the court found that Oracle violated the California Labor Code in multiple ways. The parties are currently engaged in discovery regarding the extent of PAGA penalties.  The final phase of trial is expected to occur in 2024.
  • Winning a $1.25 million jury verdict for a female junior faculty member at Columbia University who alleged that senior university and business school leadership allowed a senior tenured professor to sexually harass and obstruct her work. The trial was one of the first of its kind during the #MeToo movement.
  • Securing a $3,356,250 jury verdict for Coach Beth Burns in her case against the San Diego State University. Coach Burns alleged that the University terminated her contract because of her repeated concerns relating to gender equity between the institution’s male and female athletic programs. This verdict led to a milestone settlement in the fight for gender equity in women’s college athletics.

Client Testimonials

$21 Million Verdict

$21 Million Award After 99-Day Bench Trial

In Jane Doe v. GirlsDoPorn.com, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight won a $21 million award for a group of 22 women who were manipulated and defrauded by the owners and operators of the pornography website GirlsDoPorn.

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Recognized as Law Firm of the Year