Top best Employment & Labor Lawyers in ZIP 20003 | 13 available

Vincent “Vince” McKnight, Jr., is the Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Washington, D.C., office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Whistleblower Practice. He also represents clients in employment discrimination and wrongful discharge cases.. Vince represents whistleblowers in sealed and unsealed False Claims Act/qui tam suits under investigation by the United States and other governmental stakeholders. He has achieved significant success in such cases, including the representation of whistleblowers in a series of actions alleging that office products companies (Staples, Office Depot) were illegally selling products from non-compliant countries such as China to the U.S. government in violation of the Trade Agreements Act and General Services Administration (GSA) policies. He also served as co-counsel in United States ex rel Cox v. Smith & Newpew, alleging unlawful sales of medical devices under government contracts arising from the manufacturer’s violations of the Trade Agreements Act.. Vince was co-lead counsel for a whistleblower who was the Government Contracting Director for Network Appliance (NetApp) in a matter that resulted in the then-largest GSA procurement fraud settlement in history. NetApp overcharged the government in violation of the GSA “Best Price” Clause, and ultimately settled for approximately $ has served as faculty at the ABA’s Annual National Institute on the False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement and he has participated as a panelist at conferences hosted by Taxpayers Against Fraud and the Practicing Lawyers Institute focusing on issues under the False Claims Act. In addition, he co-authored “Causes of Action by Employee for Retaliation and Reprisal Pursuant to the False Claims Act, 31 USC Section 3730 (h)” in Causes of Action 2d 217, Section 2 (West 2003). Vince is renowned for arguing and winning a case in which the DC Court of Appeals first departed from the employment-at-will doctrine—the assumption that employment is for an indefinite amount of time and may be terminated at any time—in the District of Columbia. In the Summer of 2018, Vince was on the SHS trial team that obtained a $1.25M verdict against Columbia University on behalf of Professor Enrichetta Ravina.. Vince has consistently received a rating of “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell and was selected as one of the organization’s “Best Lawyers in America” He has also been honored as a “Top Lawyer in Maryland” by the Legal Network and as “top DC Lawyer” in Super Lawyers.

Retired from active practice of law now providing only business consultation.  Top "AV" Martindale-Hubbell rating. Areas of experience include employment, small business, and hospitality industry litigation and general business issues.  Previously admitted in all federal and state courts in the District of Columbia and Maryland, including United States Tax Court and Supreme Court of the United States.  Elected District of Columbia Neighborhood Commissioner 6B03 (2014-2018).  Board of Directors:  Capitol Hill Community Foundation.  Board of Trustees:  Capitol Hill United Methodist Church.  Past Chair: D.C. Commission on Human Rights. Past Board memberships:  Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals;  Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, Washington Legal Counsel for the Elderly.  Former Adjunct Professor:  American University Washington College of Law.

Kate Mueting is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Sanford Heisler Sharp and a Co-Chair of the firm’s Title VII Practice. She represents employees in a broad range of employment claims, including discrimination on the basis of gender, pregnancy, race, and sexual orientation.. Kate represents professionals at the highest levels in their fields, including Big Law partners and corporate executives. She has advised C-Suite executives in the pharmaceutical, technology, consulting, media, and communications industries against their Fortune 500 employers and has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of her clients.. Kate currently serves as lead counsel in the hard-fought Donna Kassman et al. v. KPMG LLP, which seeks to remedy that firm’s systemic discrimination in pay and promotion, discrimination based on pregnancy, and chronic failure to properly investigate and resolve complaints of discrimination and harassment. Kate leads a team of more than a dozen fighting to challenge gender discrimination at the Big Four Accounting Firm. Kate and her colleagues won conditional certification of the Equal Pay Act claims, and since then more than 1,100 female employees have joined the litigation as a means of securing fair and equitable compensation. Since Sanford Heisler Sharp filed the case in 2011, Kate and her team have defeated multiple attempts by KPMG to dismiss the case, and she has successfully advocated for the inclusion of additional Named Plaintiffs and of numerous other female employees of KPMG through equitable tolling.. Kate is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer at bar associations, educational institutions, and law firms. Kate is actively involved in the District of Columbia’s Women’s Bar Association, where she leads the Membership Committee. In September 2018, the Association named Kate the winner of its coveted “Mussey-Gillett Shining Star Award” that recognizes members who make extraordinary contributions to advance the mission of the Association. Kate is also a member of the Legal Network for Gender Equity.. In 2017, Kate earned recognition as one of 40 Washington, D.C. “Rising Stars” from the National Law Journal. She has also been honored as a leading litigator by other publications, including the Washington, D.C,. Super Lawyers Magazine and eBoss Watch.. Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, Kate worked at Covington & Burling, LLP, and she clerked for Michael J. Melloy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Richard J. Leon on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She also served as a Team Leader for the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.

John McKnight is a Senior Litigation Counsel in the Washington, DC office of Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, a national law firm with offices in Washington DC, New York, California, Tennessee, and Maryland. He received his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in 2011.. Mr. McKnight is experienced in the representation of clients in qui tam lawsuits under the U.S. False Claims Act and works on sealed and unsealed qui tam whistleblower cases involving fraud against the federal and state governments. He was an integral part of the litigation team that ultimately secured an $11.3 million settlement in U.S. ex rel. Cox v. Smith & Nephew, the first Trade Agreements Act settlement involving a medical device company. In addition to the Trade Agreements Act, Mr. McKnight works on cases involving the SEC Whistleblower program, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Price Reduction Clause, the Price Adjustment Clause, Medicare procurement guidelines, and numerous other fraud-based statutes.. Mr. McKnight is a member of the Maryland Bar Association, and speaks intermediate-level Mandarin Chinese.. *****. Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP, Mr. McKnight was an Associate at McKnight and Kennedy, LLC in Silver Spring, Maryland, which he joined following his graduation from the University of Maryland School of Law.. While at the University of Maryland, Mr. McKnight interned with the Human Rights Team at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and with United States District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. (Retired) of the District of Columbia, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge William Jackson, and Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson of the United States District Court of the District of Columbia. He also participated in the University of Maryland’s International and Comparative Law Clinic in China, where he worked with actors in the Chinese microcredit industry.

Dionna Maria Lewis, Esq. is a Founding Partner of the District Legal Group, PLLC. As a Trial Attorney, she manages a docket of nationwide and local cases, in all areas of labor & employment law, contract litigation, and risk mitigation for small businesses. Dionna represents clients as first- and second-chair in trial, administrative hearings, and mediation, before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. Dionna also serves as Of Counsel to the Fay Law Group, a boutique litigation firm based in Washington, DC.. Dionna has extensive experience working with boutique, mid-sized, and large firm clients. Dionna is formerly Senior Counsel at Alan Lescht and Associates, Senior Associate at Tully Rinckey PLLC, and a Senior Associate at the Fay Law Group PLLC. Prior to founding the District Legal Group, she managed an active litigation docket of nationwide and local cases, in all areas of labor & employment law, civil litigation, and civil rights claims. Dionna litigates before state courts, federal courts, and administrative agencies, including D.C. Superior Court, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Circuit Court for Montgomery County, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Special Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board, and D.C. Office of Human Rights, in matters arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Whistleblower Protection Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Equal Pay Act, and state claims involving employment discrimination, whistleblower retaliation, breach of employment agreement, breach of contract, wrongful termination, and civil torts.. Additionally, Dionna has served as a Commissioner on the D.C. Board of Elections (BOE) and serves as a Board Member of the DC Office of Employee Appeals.