Partner Reflection: Michael Palmer

By Michael Palmer, New York Co-Managing Partner | July 2024

While there are a few partners at the firm who have worked for Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight longer, including “Sanford” and “Heisler,” I am now an SHSM old-timer, having spent more than a decade at the firm. During that time, the firm has multiplied in size and gone through a few name changes; however, at heart, little has changed. It’s now a larger firm, but you will find the same dedication to the firm’s mission in the heart of every SHSM employee. Deeply committed to our clients, we work every day to achieve greater justice, primarily, but not exclusively, in the area of employment law.

Employment litigation was not always what I planned on doing when I went to law school. Originally, I had considered going into legal academia, perhaps focusing on constitutional law. Later, I expected that I would end up working for a civil rights organization or legal aid society. During my third year of law school, I enjoyed a class on employment discrimination in law school; however, at the time, I did not recognize it for what it was: the beginning of my career journey. Sometimes your passion finds you.

After graduating from law school, I started working for a small law firm that represented employees who had suffered discrimination or retaliation or had otherwise been denied their rights by employers. It was deeply powerful to speak to people who were going through some of the worst experiences in their lives. At times, I felt more like a social worker than a lawyer; providing “counsel” to clients often meant much more than discussing the legal strengths and weaknesses of their claims. The work was exhausting but also exhilarating.

I began to develop a deep knowledge of employment law, which expanded well beyond discrimination and retaliation claims, and I started to represent employees in individual and class action cases for unpaid wages. More than just learning the law, it was the beginning of my ever-continuing education on how to be a litigator.

Wanting to expand my knowledge and experience as an employment litigator, I joined SHSM in 2013. While in respects similar to the small firm, SHSM had significantly greater resources and took on a wider scope of work. I continued to work on wage and hour and discrimination cases, but now also represented whistleblowers who alleged that their employers had defrauded the government. In addition, SHSM provided me the opportunity to represent individuals in large discrimination class actions, brought on behalf of employees seeking to bring about widespread change.

Over the last ten years, I have worked on and been challenged by a wide range of matters. Early on at SHSM, I learned how to litigate a False Claims Act case, and I represented a whistleblower who alleged that doctors had been illegally paid kickbacks in the form of a sweetheart deal for a portion of their practice. In another case, I sued on behalf of a class of Google contract recruiters who asserted that they were required to work overtime hours off-the-clock. In a third case, I represented a class of female pharmaceutical sales employees who alleged gender discrimination, including in the form of unequal pay. In one of the firm’s longest running cases, I represented a class of Alaska telecom sales employees who alleged they were misclassified as exempt under the overtime laws and denied earned compensation. While this reflects but a small sample of my work at SHSM, it shows the scope of our work, and the righteous and challenging matters that we take on.

The cases are indeed challenging, and the legal headwinds sometimes feel like they are driving us backwards. The current Supreme Court is employer-friendly and has issued a number of decisions that make it more difficult for employees to successfully litigate their claims. Thankfully, I am surrounded by attorneys and staff who are among the most committed, passionate, creative, and brilliant in the legal universe. And together, SHSM has and will continue to successfully take on powerful companies and individuals who have violated the law and will hold them to account.