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Experience
Appellate Litigation
Ninth Circuit Class Action Appeal
Briefed and won appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for national healthcare company with +60,000 employees in purported class action about whether pandemic premium pay was due under company policies.
Ninth Circuit Boeing Employment Appeals
Briefed and won six appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on varied claims including alleged age discrimination, disability discrimination, ERISA claims, wrongful termination, breach of contract, Dodd-Frank retaliation, and Sarbanes-Oxley issues.
Ninth Circuit Amazon Employment Appeal
Briefed and won appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on alleged age discrimination.
Ninth Circuit International Arbitration Appeal
Wrote winning brief and managed Ninth Circuit pro bono appeal for immigrant mother of four on international arbitration issue that allowed her to retain custody of her young children.
Third Circuit Boeing Employment Appeal
Briefed and won appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit regarding Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) interference and retaliation claim.
Washington Court of Appeals Employment Cases
Briefed and won high-stakes appeals defending companies against senior executive wrongful termination and implied contract claims. Also successfully defeated Petition for Review to the Washington Supreme Court. Watch one of Sarah’s oral arguments here (starting at minute 8:36).
Alaska Superior Court Appeal
Briefed and argued appeal regarding evidentiary issues underlying domestic assault protective order on behalf of student and a university, and won attorneys’ fees.
Trial and Agency Cases
Southcentral Foundation
U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
Briefed and won dispositive motion for tribal healthcare provider confirming that court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over case because the statute at issue touched on Southcentral Foundation’s rights of self-governance.
University of Alaska
U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
Successfully briefed motion to compel and secured attorneys’ fees for client. Also successfully briefed motion for partial summary judgment.
Alaska Seafood Processing Company
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
Helped resolve class-action claims after successfully briefing and arguing a discovery motion that kept 3,000 employees’ data confidential.
Anchorage Equal Rights Commission
Secured four complete discrimination claim dismissals before the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission (AERC).
Litigation in Advance of Arbitration
Primary author of petition to compel arbitration. Resulted in opposing counsel voluntarily agreeing to a more favorable arbitration forum than the industry-focused forum they had cherry-picked, which likely would have ruled against our client on a $10 million contract claim. Ultimately resolved dispute in mediation.
Political Law
Alaska Center v. Alaska Division of Elections
Alaska Superior Court
Alaska Supreme Court
Worked as part of team in fast-paced election law challenge that went from complaint to Alaska Supreme Court in period of two weeks. The case challenged the state’s practice of not allowing voters to correct inadvertently missing signatures or identifying information on mail ballots received by the state before Election Day.
Galvin v. Alaska Division of Elections
Alaska Superior Court
Alaska Supreme Court
Secured temporary restraining order in fast-paced statutory and constitutional challenge to the division’s new practice of not listing a candidate’s political registration on the ballot, but instead only listing the party that nominated the candidate. Case went from filing to Alaska Supreme Court in just three days.
Arizona and Texas Election Law
U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Worked with team of attorneys to protect voting rights related to mail-in ballots and coordinated with county government attorneys on amicus brief before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Advice, Counseling, and Investigations
Tribal Health Organizations
Provide advice and counseling to tribal health organizations on board policies, physician contract issues, and litigation support.
Community Action Organization
Provide day-to-day advice and counseling to Alaska community action organization on issues including board structure and vendor payment obligations under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
Airline Investigation
Assisted airline with on-the-ground, internal investigation in Alaska’s North Slope. Wrote report and recommendations to guide internal policy improvements.
Pro Bono Work
Transgender Rights Litigation
Teamed up with attorneys from Lambda Legal and the Northern Justice Project to challenge regulatory exclusion that denied gender dysphoria treatments for Alaska Medicaid recipients. Achieved favorable settlement for clients that included agreement from State of Alaska not to enact the same, or very similar, exclusions in the future.
Civil Rights Challenge
As part of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska’s Federal Pro Bono Project, asserted the civil rights of a pro bono client who experienced excessive force while being taken into custody by the Alaska Department of Corrections. Argued and won discovery motion and defeated the state’s motion for summary judgment. Negotiated settlement with the state favorable to client.
Military Family Support
Assisted military family with animal welfare litigation. Successfully briefed and argued motion to enforce settlement agreement favorable to client.
Lawyers for Good Governance Small Business COVID-19 Clinic
Advice and counseling on funding opportunities for Alaska small business owners.
