Saba Bireda - Washington, DC

Saba Bireda is a Partner at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight and a Co-Chair of the firm’s Discrimination and Harassment Practice Group.

Since joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Saba has been named by the National Law Journal as one of Washington, DC’s Rising Stars. The Profiles in Diversity Journal also recognized her among its Women Worth Watching in Leadership and as a Black Leader Worth Watching. Saba was recently named a Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyer and recognized on the National Black Lawyers Top 100 list.

At Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Saba’s practice has focused on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation matters, representing individuals and classes. Saba’s representations have included:

• Litigating on behalf of a class of African American deputy U.S. Marshals and candidates for deputy U.S. Marshal positions in their hiring, promotions, and headquarters assignments claims against the U.S. Marshals Service
• Litigating a multi-plaintiff pay discrimination case against Chadbourne & Park LLP, including successfully opposing the firm’s motion for summary judgment
• Litigating on behalf of three former African American employees in their claims of race harassment against the Kraft Heinz Company
• Co-authoring a Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of members of Congress in Bank of America/Wells Fargo v. City of Miami
• Negotiating a confidential seven-figure exit package, including a pre-resignation title change, for a female executive with race and age discrimination claims against an international corporation
• Negotiating a confidential six-figure exit package for BigLaw associate with race discrimination and retaliation claims
• Negotiating a confidential settlement, including an accelerated grant of stock options and an expedited promotion schedule, for a tech company employee with race discrimination claims
• Persuading the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue findings of discrimination against a state agency for gender-based pay discrimination

Saba received her law degree from Harvard Law School and her Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University. While at Harvard, Saba was an Executive Articles Editor for the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and a teaching assistant for Professor Lani Guinier.

Saba is a member of the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania (inactive) bars. Saba has written and spoken on a variety of topics related to civil rights, employment law, and education. She has authored and been quoted in articles that have appeared in publications such as The American Lawyer and Law360.

Saba has served as an adjunct professor at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law and the American University School of Education. She is a member of the DC Bar Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee, the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the National Bar Association, and sits on the board of the National Student Legal Defense Network, Washington Leadership Academy, Advocates for Justice and Education, and the Children’s National Hospital Community Advisory Board. Saba was appointed by DC Mayor Muriel Bower to serve two terms on the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board.

Before joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Saba was a member of the senior political staff at the U.S. Department of Education, including two years in the Office for Civil Rights, during the Obama Administration. She also worked as a lawyer with Morgan Lewis and the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania. Saba started her career as a middle school English teacher in Washington, DC as a member of Teach for America.

When Saba is not lawyering, she enjoys volunteering in her adopted hometown of Washington, DC and spending time with her family.