Sarah E. Bouchard

Partner

Sarah E. Bouchard is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Labor and Employment Practice and a co-leader of the Sarbanes-Oxley subpractice. Ms. Bouchard has litigated employment and benefits issues in state and federal courts, and has provided representation and advice on wrongful discharge, employment contracts, sexual harassment, discrimination, whistleblower/Sarbanes-Oxley actions, severance agreements, noncompetition and trade secret protections, reductions in force, and a variety of other employment matters.

Ms. Bouchard is a seasoned litigator and has led the defense of nationwide class and collective actions for some of the firm's largest and most sophisticated clients, particularly in the areas of financial services, healthcare, and retail. She has handled sensitive Sarbanes-Oxley-related litigation at all levels of the administrative and federal process, and she speaks extensively on Sarbanes-Oxley issues. She has also handled complex noncompetition and trade secret litigations. Ms. Bouchard is listed in Chambers as one of America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2008–2011).

Ms. Bouchard also routinely advises employers, conducts training, as well as conducts internal audits on many areas of labor and employment law, including sexual harassment; employee leave rights; wage and hour compliance; and litigation avoidance.

Ms. Bouchard's publications on labor and employment law include articles in the Villanova Law Review and the Texas Review of Litigation. Most recently, she authored a chapter on "Establishing Best Practices" in Inside the Minds: Labor and Employment Litigation Strategies: Leading Lawyers on Determining Defense and Negotiation Strategies, Evaluating Financial Repercussions, and Interpreting Federal and State Laws (Aspatore Books, 2007). Ms. Bouchard served as a member of the 2009 EmploymentLaw360 editorial advisory board and has been a frequently quoted employment law expert on whistleblower issues.

Ms. Bouchard has a deep commitment to education, particularly urban education and diversity initiatives. She serves several education clients in her practice, including Teach for America, and is a board member of Young Scholars Academy. Ms. Bouchard also serves as Morgan Lewis's inaugural Legal Fellow for the Leadership Counsel on Legal Diversity. From 2003 to 2007, Ms. Bouchard served as adjunct faculty for Villanova University's Human Resources Department Graduate Program.

Ms. Bouchard earned her J.D. from Villanova University School of Law in 1995. She received her B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from Pennsylvania State University in 1992.

Ms. Bouchard is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, and Seventh Circuits.