Attorneys

David W. Sanford

AV Rated (The AV Rating by Martindale-Hubbell is the highest level of professional excellence at which an attorney can be ranked by his peers.)

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Sanford Wittels & Heisler, LLP
1666 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 310
Washington, DC 20009

Phone: (202) 742-7780
Fax: (202) 742-7776
E-mail: dsanford@nydclaw.com
Web site: http://www.nydclaw.com

David Sanford is a founding partner of the law firm Sanford Wittels & Heisler, LLP. Mr. Sanford received his law degree from Stanford Law School in 1995.

With his extensive class action and litigation experience, Mr. Sanford zealously and vigorously represents the interests of individuals across the United States in civil rights, wage and hour, commercial litigation and personal injury matters.

Before starting this firm in January 2004, Mr. Sanford opened and managed the Washington, D.C. office of the civil rights firm of Wiggins, Childs, Quinn & Pantazis from 1998 through 2003. He also helped open the Washington, D.C. office of Boies & Schiller in 1997, and worked with David Boies on antitrust matters and commercial litigation. Prior to that, Mr. Sanford worked in the appellate division of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, drafting petitions of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Sanford served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gladys Kessler of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia; as a law clerk in the White House Counsel's Office under President Clinton; and as a judicial intern for the Honorable Dorothy Nelson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, California.

Mr. Sanford is an active member in good standing with the bar of both the District of Columbia and state of Maryland. Prior to his life in the law, Mr. Sanford taught in the department of philosophy at Williams College and Oberlin College. He regularly serves as a guest lecturer at the American University Justice Program, and has been a member of the William B. Bryant Inn of Court since 1996.

Recent Successful Resolutions Yielding Millions Of Dollars In Back Pay And Damage Awards Include The Following:

As lead trial attorney, Mr. Sanford secured a jury verdict in Atlanta, Georgia, on behalf of a white employee of the Kroger Company who opposed race discrimination at Kroger and who suffered retaliation as a result of her opposition;
A five million dollar settlement involving fraudulent dealings relating to a twenty million dollar investment in a hedge fund in New York;
A medical malpractice settlement against Georgetown Hospital in Washington, D.C.;
Class-wide settlements in race discrimination matters against Cracker Barrel Country Store in Tennessee; Toshiba in Tennessee; Goody’s Clothing in Georgia; Gulf Stream in California; TRW in Tennessee; Cooker Restaurants in Florida; IKON in New York; Southtec in Tennessee; and SuperSteel in New York;
Class-wide settlement of wage and hour disputes against Wampler Foods in West Virginia; TRW in Tennessee; IKON in New York; and Johnny Rockets Restaurants in Washington, D.C.;
A settlement involving a claim of sexual harassment at a Washington, D.C. non-profit entity;
A class-wide settlement of a gender discrimination and sexual harassment case against Fairfield;
A settlement of a race discrimination case against General Electric.

Race Discrimination Matters

Mr. Sanford was lead counsel, along with the NAACP, the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and other firms, in a race discrimination class action in Rome, Georgia, brought on behalf of African-American customers throughout the United States against Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores. (NAACP, et al. v. Cracker Barrel, Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division Case No. 4:01-CV-325.) Cracker Barrel was accused of segregating, denying service to, or giving inferior service to, African-Americans at its restaurants in over 30 states. The United States Department of Justice entered into a consent decree with Cracker Barrel designed to end the pattern and practice of discrimination that led the Justice Department to file suit.

Mr. Sanford has brought numerous race and gender discrimination class actions on behalf of aggrieved employees throughout the United States. He has worked closely with the National Office of the NAACP, as well as with chapter and branch presidents throughout the United States, in investigating and litigating claims of race discrimination.

Mr. Sanford is currently class counsel in race discrimination class action matters against the United States Department of Commerce, Whirlpool, AK Steel, IKON, Southtec, Supersteel, FDIC, and Smith and Nephew.

Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

Mr. Sanford is currently class counsel in a gender discrimination class action against Novartis, in which the Court recently certified Plaintiffs’ class of approximately 3,500 to 5,000 female sales representatives and district managers, making it the second largest gender discrimination class action certified in the nation.

Mr. Sanford is currently class counsel in a gender discrimination class action against General Electric, brought by the in-house general counsel of General Electric Transportation and on behalf of a class of approximately 1,000 female executive band employees and female attorneys.

Mr. Sanford is also currently class counsel in gender discrimination class action matters against Kyphon and Sanofi.

Wage and Hour Matters

Mr. Sanford is, and has been, lead class counsel in numerous collective action Fair Labor Standards Act matters throughout the United States, and has also given lectures on the wage and hour laws of the United States. Fair Labor Standards Act actions are brought on behalf of employees, alleging violations of the wage and hour laws of the United States.

Mr. Sanford is currently class counsel in wage and hour class action matters against Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, IKON, Ameriquest, Kaiser, Autotrader, and Guardsmark.

Qui Tam Matters

Mr. Sanford is currently lead counsel in five nationwide qui tam matters involving fraud against the United States Government.

Predatory Lending

Mr. Sanford is currently class counsel in a case involving entities fraudulently inducing low-income residents of Washington, D.C. into purchasing condominiums. The case concerns predatory lending, breach of contract and fraud claims against numerous defendants, including Countrywide Home Loans, one of the nation's largest residential mortgage lenders.

Current Employment Position(s):

Founding Partner

Year Joined Organization:

2004

Areas Of Practice:

70% Employment
15% Commercial Litigation
15% Consumer Protection

Litigation Percentage:

100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions:

Maryland, 1997
District of Columbia, 1998
U.S. District Court District of Maryland, 1998
U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, 2004
U.S. Supreme Court, 2005
U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois, 2006
U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida, 2006

Education:

Stanford Law School, Stanford, California, 1995
J.D.
Law Review: Symposium Editor, Stanford Law and Policy Review, 1994 - 1995
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
M.A.
Major: Philosophy
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA, 1980
B.A.

Past Employment Positions:

Hon. Judge Gladys Kessler, U.S. District Court for District of Columbia, Law Clerk, 1995 - 1996
Jones Day Reavis & Pogue, Washington, D.C., Associate, Appellate Division, 1996 - 1997
Boies & Schiller, Washington, DC, Associate, 1997 - 1998
Gordon, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs, Associate, 1998 - 2001
Gordon, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs, Partner, 2001 - 2003
Wiggins, Childs, Quinn & Pantazis, 1998 - 2003
White House Counsel's Office, Law Clerk, 1994
Honorable Dorothy Nelson, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, Pasadena, California, Judicial Intern, 1993

Languages:

German

Birth Information:

1957, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America