Russell Kornblith is a Partner and the General Counsel of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. He practices both employment law and whistleblower law, representing individuals and classes in a wide range of disputes. He has represented plaintiffs in cases alleging unlawful terminations, unlawful denials of promotions, unequal pay, and hostile work environments, related to race, gender, pregnancy, and disability. He has also represented sexual assault survivors seeking justice. In addition, Russell represents whistleblowers alleging fraud against the U.S. government under the False Claims Act.
Russell played a leading role in the firm’s class action gender discrimination case against Merck & Co., and was instrumental in obtaining approval of the firm’s class action gender discrimination settlement with Western Digital. In addition to representing classes, Russell represents individuals, including associates and partners alleging discrimination in BigLaw, a general counsel who alleged she was fired in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law, a CEO who claimed he was fired in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act, and a student who alleged he was sexually assaulted by a professor while abroad.
Russell’s whistleblower practice focuses on the False Claims Act. Russell represented the relator in a customs fraud whistleblower action against a vitamin importer that in 2023 resulted in a $22.865 million settlement with the U.S. government. He was lead counsel in a whistleblower action against Temple St. Clair, believed to be the first case in New York to recover money for the federal government based on a company’s failure to properly mark its jewelry with its country of origin. He also played a leading role in a $1.5 million whistleblower settlement against the Scripps Health System in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, which alleged fraudulent billing for physical therapy services.
Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Russell served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ronald Lee Gilman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for the Honorable James S. Gwin of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. At Harvard Law School, Russell was an Articles Editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review and contributed to several amicus curiae briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court addressing the Alien Tort Statute on behalf of professors of legal history as part of Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic.
Updated Oct 2024
