ATLANTA, May 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sanford Heisler Sharp today announced the addition of Nancy Rafuse, one of the nation’s leading employment lawyers, as its firmwide Head of Litigation. Rafuse will support from Atlanta Sanford Heisler Sharp’s litigation teams in its 6 offices across the U.S.
Rafuse practiced employment law for the past three decades as an equity partner at Seyfarth Shaw, Polsinelli, Paul Hastings, and her own firm, Ashe Rafuse & Hill. She currently serves as a counselor in residence at the University of Georgia School of Law, teaching courses in employment discrimination, wage and hour law, and litigation. She is also a member of the school’s Board of Visitors.
In addition to representing large institutional clients on the defense side, Rafuse has excelled on the plaintiffs’ side: She was counsel to a class of Louisiana State University women student athletes seeking equal participation opportunities under Title IX. After a month-long bench trial, the court found in the students’ favor and ordered LSU to include women’s soccer and softball. On appeal, the 5th Circuit affirmed the students’ victory and remanded for an award of compensatory damages to the class. Rafuse was also trial counsel in a gender discrimination matter against an Applebee’s franchisee on behalf of a female store manager. The case resulted in an approximately $1.9 million verdict for the manager.
Nancy Rafuse first met David Sanford in 1999, when they began a contentious, nationwide and years-long battle as opposing counsel in a race discrimination class action involving the Cracker Barrel Restaurant chain. Over the years, they formed a close professional relationship that now brings them together as colleagues and partners.
“Nancy is an outstanding lawyer and deeply caring person of the highest integrity. She has a wealth of experience in all aspects of litigation, trial and arbitration management, and dispute resolution, and she commands the greatest respect of lawyers on both sides of the aisle,” said David Sanford, Chairman of Sanford Heisler Sharp. “She will be an exceptional mentor, role model and thought leader as we continue to expand our litigation presence throughout the United States. Nancy is the one lawyer in the United States we most wanted to be our national head of litigation.”
“Sanford Heisler Sharp’s reputation in pursuit of social and economic justice for diverse clients is second to none,” said Rafuse. “I look forward to contributing to the social justice and public interest mission of the firm by incorporating what I’ve learned in my career. For me this is a unique opportunity to be part of some of the most exciting and important civil rights litigation in the country.”
Rafuse earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude and her law degree summa cum laude from the University of Georgia. While in law school, she served as notes editor of the Georgia Law Review and as a judicial intern for U.S. District Court Judge B. Avant Edenfield. She was also inducted into the Order of the Coif.
After law school, she worked at Paul Hastings, where she became a partner and served as vice chair of the firm’s employment practice before serving as managing partner of Ashe Rafuse & Hill. Rafuse then opened Polsinelli’s Atlanta office in 2014, managing it for three years. During her last two years at Polsinelli, she served as the firm’s labor and employment department chair, representing clients in high profile class and collective actions.
Most recently, Rafuse served as an equity partner at Seyfarth Shaw in Atlanta, where her national labor and employment practice included Fortune 100 clients and large private employers. She advised and counseled on employment law matters, including internal investigations and C-suite employment issues.
About Sanford Heisler Sharp, LLP
Sanford Heisler Sharp is a national public interest class-action litigation law firm with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Nashville, and Baltimore. Sanford Heisler Sharp focuses on employment discrimination, Title IX, wage and hour, whistleblower, criminal/sexual violence, and financial services matters. The firm has recovered over $1 billion for its clients through many verdicts and settlements. The National Law Journal recognized Sanford Heisler Sharp as 2021 Employment Rights Firm of the Year and 2021 Human Rights Firm of the Year. Benchmark Litigation recognized the Firm as 2020 and 2021 Labor & Employment Firm of the Year.
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If you have potential legal claims and are seeking counsel, please call 646-681-7373 or email david.sanford@sanfordheisler.com. Attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp would like to have the opportunity to help you.
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