Philadelphia
Phone +1.215.963.5077
Fax +1.215.963.5001
1701 Market St.//Philadelphia, PA 19103-2921//United States
Sarah Bouchard helps companies respond to workplace crisis situations. She litigates highly sensitive and complex harassment, whistleblower, noncompetition, and trade secret matters across the United States. As co-leader of the firm’s whistleblower group, Sarah routinely handles litigation and litigation avoidance related to regulatory issues under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, False Claims Act, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She leads the firm’s Title IX taskforce, focusing on issues of discrimination and sexual harassment in the education setting. She is adept at leading internal investigations related to workplace misconduct, including sexual harassment, and advising employers on appropriate responses and remediation measures, and defending companies in employment lawsuits and related matters.
Sarah is a co-leader of the firm’s whistleblower taskforce. Her whistleblower experience includes litigating numerous cases before the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), administrative law judges, and federal courts. She defends clients against allegations involving complex regulatory and compliance issues, including value-added tax (VAT) treatment and free trade zone issues; inventory booking and corresponding implications on quarterly earnings reports; accurate revenue accounting treatment; proper internal control procedures; and stock option agreements and compensation models. On behalf of Morgan Lewis, she has published comments to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the Dodd-Frank whistleblower program, and is a frequent speaker on Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and Dodd-Frank whistleblower issues.
Sarah also advises employers on the preemptive creation of crisis management plans before harassment allegations are made, and she advises on workplace culture assessments to evaluate companies’ policies, practices, and processes for handling sexual harassment and other workplace complaints. Sarah has handled workplace harassment investigations and counseled on workplace crises for employers in the financial services, legal services, and media and entertainment industries.
In addition to her whistleblower and crisis management work, Sarah provides advice regarding compliance with Title IX and investigates claims of discrimination and harassment under Title IX. She also advises on best practices for organizations navigating Title IX investigations.
A seasoned litigator with first- and second-chair trial experience in numerous matters, Sarah handles cases alleging violations of employment laws, including individual, US national, and regional collective class actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and hour laws. She also litigates noncompete and trade secret matters for clients across the United States, most recently in the medical device and technology sectors.
Sarah also routinely advises employers on sexual harassment, employee leave rights, wage and hour compliance, and litigation avoidance, conducting training and internal audits related to these issues.
Sarah is the managing partner of the firm’s Philadelphia office.
Awards and Affiliations
Recognized, Leading US Corporate Employment Lawyer, Lawdragon 500 (2020)
Women of Distinction, Philadelphia Business Journal (2020)
Ranked, Labor & Employment, Pennsylvania, Chambers USA (2008–2020)
Leading Lawyer, Labor and employment: Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense,The Legal 500 US (2018–2020)
Recommended, Labor and employment disputes: defense, The Legal 500 US (2016, 2017)
