Emily A. Given - Washington, DC

Emily Given is a Partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight.

Emily’s practice at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight focuses on employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation matters, along with civil rights and public interest litigation.

Before joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Emily served as a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, enforcing federal employment discrimination law nationwide. At DOJ, Emily investigated, litigated, and resolved single-claimant, multi-claimant, and pattern-or-practice cases, including sex and race discrimination cases that resulted in seven-figure settlements. Among others, Emily handled a case alleging that a county jail negligently failed to respond to sustained sexual harassment; a case alleging that a female collegiate track coach was denied equal pay; and cases alleging that entry-level hiring tests used by police, fire, and correctional departments had an unlawful disparate impact.

Emily received multiple awards for her work at the Department of Justice, including the Assistant Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and a Special Commendation Award (twice). Emily also completed a clerkship for the Honorable James K. Bredar of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Emily is a member of the New York and Maryland bars and a graduate of the UCLA School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the UCLA Law Review. While in law school, Emily interned with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Bet Tzedek’s Employment Rights Project, and she worked for two plaintiff-side employment and civil rights law firms. Emily also holds a master’s degree in philosophy from UNC Chapel Hill, where she taught undergraduate philosophy classes for several years, and a bachelor’s degree from Colby College, summa cum laude and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

News

• Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight Adds Former DOJ Civil Rights Attorney Emily Given as Partner, Global Legal Chronicle, September 15, 2026
• Former DOJ and White House Officials Crowd Into Big Law Firms, Law.com, September 14, 2026
• Sanford Heisler Hires Ex-DOJ Litigator As Partner In DC, Law360, September 14, 2026
• Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight Adds Former DOJ Civil Rights Trial Attorney Emily Given as Partner in Washington, D.C., GlobeNewswire, September 14, 2026