David Sanford, Chairman and co-founder of Sanford Heisler Sharp. October 5, 2018.
David Sanford and Jeremy Heisler founded Sanford Heisler Sharp in 2004. Since then, the firm has reached major settlements with big companies, law firms and government institutions with class actions and other litigation. Since the #MeToo movement put a spotlight on sexual harassment and gender discrimination, Sanford, the firm’s chairman, says inquiries have swelled. Sanford spoke recently with The National Law Journal. The interview was edited for length and clarity.
Tell us about the legal landscape in the areas where you practice. I think right now we are in a very different place. In October 2017, the news broke regarding Harvey Weinstein that gave rise to the #MeToo social media campaign. It pushed us to reflect on where we are in society in respect to gender relations in general and sexual assault in particular. As a result of that social media campaign, and subsequent high-profile cases involving celebrities, there has been an increase [both] in the level of interest in these matters and in the sheer number of people who have contacted our firm. For example, in September 2017, approximately 2,000 people contacted [our] firm. In 2018, the number doubled. We take about 100 cases a year. In 2017, we took 5 percent and in 2018, we only took 2.5 percent. The number accepted [was] the same but [the] intake doubled. It’s very interesting. In terms of the state of this area of law, there is a willingness of people to come forward and tell their stories. There is just a lot more work to do.
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