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2025Year in Review
This past year marked a transformative period for our firm as we achieved unprecedented victories for our clients while positioning ourselves for even greater impact ahead. From record-breaking ERISA settlements to groundbreaking military sexual assault litigation, our teams demonstrated the power of strategic advocacy and unwavering commitment to justice. As we look toward 2026, we're expanding our reach, sharpening our strategies, and preparing to tackle complex civil rights challenges ahead.
Financial Mismanagement & ERISA Litigation
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight's ERISA practice was named a 2025 Benefits Practice Group of the Year by Law360, recognizing the team's groundbreaking litigation wins and significant legal work that resonated throughout the industry in 2025. Our ERISA practice achieved its best year yet with the $69 million UnitedHealth settlement—the largest single-plan ERISA settlement ever for breach of fiduciary duty. This landmark victory benefited approximately 350,000 plan participants and capped a remarkable journey since our first ERISA filing in 2017.
Since launching this practice in 2015, we've represented more than one million plan participants and recovered more than $150 million. The firm's novel approach to ERISA law—challenging poor investment performance as a breach of fiduciary duty— has reshaped the field and given attorneys at the firm firsthand experience in litigation. We're maintaining momentum with 10 active class actions representing potential damages approaching $1.5 billion. In April, we filed against Discount Tire for failing to replace one of the worst-performing target date suites in the market for over 15 years. In May, we filed against TIAA for retaining eight underperforming funds with more than $2 billion invested, in some cases where the exact same funds were available with lower fees.
Whistleblower & Qui Tam
The Whistleblower and Qui Tam practice achieved significant milestones in 2025, positioning the firm at the forefront of emerging enforcement priorities. As trade policy continues to dominate headlines and regulatory scrutiny intensifies across financial services and digital markets, our team is uniquely positioned to help whistleblowers navigate complex fraud schemes—from customs and tariff evasion to healthcare billing fraud, financial misstatements, and digital advertising manipulation.
We are looking forward to expanding our practice by continuing to help our clients receive large rewards for their brave actions in coming forward to expose fraud. Our focus spans traditional False Claims Act cases in healthcare and government contracting, as well as cutting-edge areas like private credit fraud, non-bank financial institutions, and emerging schemes in auto lending and Buy Now, Pay Later companies. We're also closely monitoring developments in state-level fraud, China-related compliance issues, and sanctions violations, with money laundering serving as a critical through-line across our enforcement work.
Our team grew strategically to meet increasing demand, adding experience, diversity, and expertise. Summer Guo joined from the SEC, bringing valuable government perspective, while both Sarah Chu and Frank Xu have taken on important roles in active litigation. For 2026, we're staying ahead of regulatory curves by providing the government with enforceable cases while cultivating relationships that transcend political cycles, ensuring we end 2026 as a stronger, more capable team.
Sexual Violence, Title IX & Victims' Rights
Our Sexual Violence, Title IX, and Victims' Rights group solidified its position as a national leader in 2025, becoming one of the most recognized firms handling military sexual assault cases. We currently represent 45 service members sexually abused by an Army doctor, 34 former U.S. Coast Guard Academy students, and 7 women abused and videotaped by an Army gynecologist.
Partner Christine Dunn discusses one of the cases and her respresentation of the victims
This year brought a groundbreaking settlement using a novel causation theory, successfully arguing that our client's father's recent death resulted from sexual abuse he suffered fifty years ago. We also recently filed a complaint in the case Amelia Cunningham v. Colgate University, in which our client alleges that she was harmed because Colgate University ignored abuse by its women's lacrosse coach. We also became counsel of record in the case Janning v. Southwest Airlines, Co., et al, a case in which our client, a pilot for the airlines, alleges that she experienced dangerous sexual misconduct mid-air and faced retaliation when she reported it.
In 2025, we also witnessed the Maryland Supreme Court upholding the Child's Victims Act of 2023 (CVA), which creates a "lookback window" for childhood sexual abuse. In addition, with California opening a civil window in 2026 and other states potentially following suit, we're positioned to seek justice for significantly more survivors while establishing ourselves as go-to experts through targeted speaking engagements and widespread media coverage.
Asian American Litigation & Finance
The Asian American Litigation and Finance Practice Group achieved exceptional growth in 2025, closing the year with landmark results and growing national influence. Throughout the year, the practice group secured final approval of a $4.9 million settlement in Song and Ji v. Weee!, a major wage-and-hour class and PAGA action on behalf of Asian and immigrant delivery drivers against the largest online Asian supermaket, and reached a significant settlement in Zhang v. Reliance Memory that further reinforced the Group's strength in representing Asian American executives and professionals in high-stakes employment matters.
In addition to case successes, the Asian American Litigation and Finance Practice also strengthened its partnership with national and regional bar associations and community organizations.
We enter 2026 with unprecedented momentum and infrastructure to handle complex, multi-jurisdictional matters at scale. The explosive growth of AI has created new civil rights battlegrounds—algorithmic bias, retaliation against whistleblowers, and the systematic undervaluation of talents of Asian heritage. Continued anti-Asian hate and the overall political dynamic also disproportionately affect AANHPI workers around the country, underscoring the importance of our legal presentation. Drawing on deep cultural fluency, language capabilities, and trusted community relationships across major U.S. markets, our practice is positioned to lead the next generation of impact litigation and advocacy on behalf of Asian American workers, executives and whistleblowers across industries.
Discrimination & Harassment
2025 proved another successful year for our Discrimination and Harassment Practice Group. In Ko v. Swiftly Systems, we secured a preliminary injunction reinstating our client as Chief People Officer just days after her termination following an EEOC complaint. When the Second Circuit refused to stay the reinstatement, the case settled shortly after—proving the power of aggressive earlystage advocacy.
Looking ahead, we're implementing data-driven case selection while creating litigation efficiencies to increase trial opportunities. We remain committed to representing vulnerable populations, particularly those targeted by current policy changes, while launching focused campaigns against companies with discrimination patterns—especially in tech. Our December 2025 American Airlines Cadet Academy filing, representing 18 former cadets, signals our expansion into for-profit education and consumer protection.
Public Interest Litigation
Throughout 2025, our Public Interest Practice Group continued its efforts to address systemic injustices through critically important impact litigations. In Mayor and City Council of Baltimore v. Polymer80, Inc. and Hanover Armory, LLC, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight helped secure the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore a $62 million verdict against Hanover Armory for its actions selling ghost guns and fueling violent crime across the city. This is the largest jury verdict against a gun dealer in U.S. history.
In our lawsuit against the State of Tennessee for its mistreatment and abuse of disabled youth in Juvenile Justice custody, we defeated the State's motions to dismiss, secured favorable discovery rulings, and have continued to keep the pressure on the State through discovery. Our Opioids Litigation team defeated the pharmacy benefit manager's (PBMs) Fourth Circuit appeal, allowing the City of Martinsville's case against the PBMs for facilitating the opioid crisis to resume in earnest in Virginia State Court. In addition to leading Martinsville's case against the PBMs, our team has also negotiated settlements and helped our local government clients navigate participating in national settlements with other opioid defendants.
Wage Theft & Overtime Violations
The Wage and Hour Practice Group secured impressive settlements in 2025, including the $15.5 million resolution in the California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) case, Abrishamcar v. Oracle America. As a result of this substantial settlement, millions of dollars have been paid to current and former Oracle employees, as well as the State of California. The lawsuit alleged that the technology company violated certain California Labor Code sections with respect to the company's sales commission plans and practices. In addition, we obtained final approval of the $4.9 million class action settlement in Song v. Weee!, a California wage and hour case brought on behalf of delivery drivers who asserted that workers were misclassified and denied earned wages and meal breaks among other violations.
We are also litigating Strain v. Southwest Airlines, a case asserting that the defendant failed to timely pay baggage and cargo handlers. On January 13, 2026, the Court granted our motion to conditionally certify a federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action. Notice will be sent to potential action collective members, giving them an opportunity to join the FLSA suit. The Complaint seeks more than $100 million in liquidated damages, as well as equitable and injunctive relief, attorneys' fees and costs, interest, and other appropriate relief.
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