Sara, a partner in our Life Sciences Health Industry Group, counsels life sciences companies and health care providers in both litigation disputes and regulatory enforcement matters. She has represented clients in fraud and abuse matters, including responding to government investigations of Medicare and Medicaid billing, conducting internal investigations, defending against Qui Tam and whistleblower lawsuits under the federal False Claims Act, and other regulatory matters regarding the federal Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute. She has also represented her health care clients in complex contract and business torts disputes, antitrust litigation, products liability (pharmaceutical) litigation, and medical malpractice suits. She has represented clients in federal court, state court, and administrative proceedings.
Sara has also represented clients in securities investigations and litigation, and she was seconded at one of the world's largest plastics, chemical and refining companies in 2016. In 2013, Sara served as a special prosecutor with the City of Houston's Legal Department through a 20-week attorney loan program, during which she tried more than a dozen cases to verdict.
Prior to joining Reed Smith, Sara completed a two-year clerkship for United States District Judge David Hittner in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. She assisted Judge Hittner as the lead briefing attorney on numerous cases, including those involving international Ponzi schemes, political bribery, Medicare fraud, trademark, trade secrets, and copyright infringement, complex contract, and employment disputes. Sara's clerkship experience enables her to provide her clients with valuable insight into the judicial process and on the complicated issues that arise in litigation. While in law school, she served as a legal intern for Baylor College of Medicine's General Counsel's Office and Texas Children's Hospital's Risk Management Department.
