NEW YORK, July 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, one of the nation’s leading public interest civil rights law firms, today announced that every partner in the firm has been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers guide, making Sanford Heisler the only civil rights and plaintiff employment law firm in the nation with at least 20 partners to have every partner recognized in the prestigious guide. The distinction reflects the firm’s extraordinary depth of experience representing employees, whistleblowers, consumers, and individuals whose civil rights have been violated.
The recognition spans every Sanford Heisler office and every major area of the firm’s practice, with partners honored for their leadership in employment discrimination, civil rights, whistleblower, ERISA, Title IX, wage and hour, sexual violence, consumer protection, and other high-impact public interest litigation.
Lawdragon’s annual guide recognizes the nation’s leading attorneys representing employees and individuals in civil rights and plaintiff employment matters. Honorees are selected through submissions, independent journalistic research, and editorial vetting by a board of peers.
According to Lawdragon’s editors, Sanford Heisler is the only firm focused on civil rights and plaintiff employment law to achieve this distinction. This underscores Sanford Heisler’s unmatched depth in civil rights and plaintiff employment litigation.
“This recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects our firm’s unwavering commitment to the people we represent,” said David Sanford, Chairman of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. “Each of our partners has dedicated their career to standing up for workers, whistleblowers, survivors of discrimination and harassment, and others whose rights have been violated. We are grateful to Lawdragon for this recognition, but even more grateful for the trust our clients place in us every day. Their courage is what makes our work possible. To earn this recognition is a reflection of the remarkable talent, dedication, and shared mission across our entire partnership.”
The Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight attorneys recognized in the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers guide are:
- Saba Bireda – Co-Managing Partner, Washington, D.C. Office; Co-Chair, Employment Discrimination & Harassment Practice Group
- Charles Field – Co-Vice Chairman; Managing Partner, San Diego Office; Co-Chair, Financial Mismanagement & ERISA Litigation Practice Group
- Carolin Guentert – Co-Managing Partner, New York Office; Co-Chair, Sexual Violence, Title IX & Victims’ Rights Practice Group
- Meghan Heesch – Co-Chair, Trial Practice Group
- Jeremy Heisler – Co-Founder and Co-Vice Chairman
- Sharon Kim – Partner
- Andrew Macurdy – Co-Chair, Trial Practice Group
- John McKnight – Co-Chair, Whistleblower & Qui Tam Practice Group
- H. Vincent McKnight Jr. – Co-Vice Chairman; Co-Chair, Whistleblower & Qui Tam Practice Group; Co-Ombudsperson
- Andrew Melzer – Co-Chair, Wage & Hour Practice Group
- Kate Mueting – Firm Administrative Partner; Co-Chair, Employment Discrimination & Harassment Practice Group; Co-Chair, Executive Representation Practice Group
- Alok Nadig – Co-Chair, Employment Discrimination & Harassment Practice Group
- Michael D. Palmer – Co-Managing Partner, New York Office; Co-Chair, Wage & Hour Practice Group
- David Sanford – Chairman; Co-Founder; Co-Chair, Executive Representation Practice Group
- Kevin Sharp – Co-Vice Chairman; Co-Chair, Public Interest Litigation Practice Group
- Leigh Anne St. Charles – Managing Partner, Nashville Office; Co-Head of Litigation; Co-Chair, Employment Discrimination & Harassment Practice Group; Co-Chair, Financial Mismanagement & ERISA Litigation Practice Group
- Jonathan Tepe – Co-Chair, Public Interest Litigation Practice Group; Chair, Fellows and Junior Associates Program
- David H. Tracey – Firm Managing Partner; Co-Chair, Public Interest Litigation Practice Group
- Michelle Wasserman – Partner
- Nicole Wiitala – Managing Partner for Legal Personnel
- Qiaojing Ella Zheng – Managing Partner, Palo Alto and San Francisco Offices; Chair, Asian American Litigation & Finance Practice Group
Collectively, the firm’s recognized partners have litigated many of the nation’s most significant employment discrimination, civil rights, whistleblower, ERISA, sexual harassment, Title IX, consumer protection, and public interest matters. Together, they have helped recover more than $5 billion for clients while advancing legal protections that have strengthened the rights of workers and individuals nationwide.
The complete 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers guide is available at www.lawdragon.com.
About Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight is a public interest and civil rights law firm with offices in New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Nashville, and San Diego. The firm focuses on executive representation, wrongful termination, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage theft and overtime violations, whistleblower and qui tam, sexual violence, Title IX violations and victims’ rights, financial mismanagement and ERISA litigation, and Asian American litigation and finance matters. The firm’s attorneys have recovered more than $5 billion for their clients through landmark verdicts and settlements.
In 2024, Forbes named Chairman and Co-Founder David Sanford to its inaugural list of America’s Top 200 Lawyers. The National Law Journal has recognized Sanford Heisler as Civil Rights Firm of the Year, Employment Rights Firm of the Year, and Human Rights Firm of the Year. Benchmark Litigation has named the firm Labor & Employment Firm of the Year, and Law360 has recognized it as Employment Practice Group of the Year.
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Jamie Moss
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