Contact

130 North Court Ave,
Memphis TN 38103

Practice Areas

Commercial & Business Litigation

Government Relations & Municipal Law

Labor & Employment Law

Education, Charitable & Not-For-Profit Organizations

Admitted to Practice

Tennessee, 2016

United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, 2017

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, 2021

United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 2022

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, 2018

Bar Admissions

Memphis Bar Association

Tennessee Bar Association

Federal Bar Association

American Bar Association

Sarah Stuart’s practice focuses primarily on employment advice and counsel and litigation, in addition to commercial and business litigation matters.

Her employment litigation experience includes defending litigations involving employment discrimination, retaliation, harassment, restrictive covenants, the FMLA, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and wage and hour claims. She also conducts internal investigations, assists in responding to Department of Labor investigations and EEOC charges, and gives advice and counsel (including training) to clients on day-to-day employment matters, including restrictive covenants, employee discipline, employee handbooks, accommodations, leave, and classification determinations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While Sarah primarily represents employers, she also represents individual executives and healthcare professionals in contract review and negotiations, including related disputes.

In addition to her employment practice, Sarah’s experience includes advising non-profits, assisting in governmental investigations, appellate work, advising and defending educational clients (including Title IX matters), and litigating civil rights matters, including class action work. Sarah’s practice has an emphasis on cases pending in federal court, and she regularly has served as local counsel to work with firms bringing and defending cases in the Western District of Tennessee.

Prior to joining Burch, Porter & Johnson, Sarah served as a law clerk to both the Honorable Bernice B. Donald (Ret. Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit) and the Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman (Chief United States District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee).

Sarah is a native of North Texas and adopted Memphis as her home after attending Rhodes College. In addition to her legal practice, Sarah is involved in a variety of legal and community organizations and will serve as the President of the Memphis Mid-South Federal Bar Association in 2026.

Sarah has been repeatedly recognized by Super Lawyers (“Rising Stars”) and Best Lawyers in America (“Ones to Watch”).

Representative Matters

Serves as lead outside employment counsel to organization with over 8,000 employees.

Assists in serving as employment law counsel to educational and healthcare institutions, consulting on highly sensitive matters relating to faculty and staff, internal investigations, wage and hour issues and executive employment.

Provides in-house training for legal compliance and risk management for various clients including healthcare, non-profit, and government clients.
Conducted wide-scale internal investigation regarding claims of disparate treatment in promotional practices for large organization (co-lead counsel).
Defended non-profit client in preliminary injunction matter involving restriction on use of property.
Obtained summary judgment in favor of major healthcare organization in a case alleging sex discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation.
Obtained summary judgment, affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, for a major healthcare organization in a case alleging religious discrimination on the basis of refusal to obtain the Covid-19 vaccination.
Obtained a favorable judgment in a bench trial regarding employment dispute for educational client.
Participated as second chair in a $2M insurance coverage bench trial, resulting in a judgment resolving all claims in favor of the client, which was affirmed by the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
Obtained favorable outcome for government client following bench trial under a specialized state statute.
Provided pro bono assistance to individuals facing eminent domain lawsuits in 2021 by the Byhalia Pipeline project.

Education

The University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law (J.D., 2016), magna cum laude; Managing Editor, University of Memphis Law Review
Rhodes College (B.A., 2013), cum laude

Professional Honors and Activities

Named in Best Lawyers “Ones to Watch” (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026) – Commercial Litigation, Labor & Employment Law – Management, Municipal Law
Named in Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
Best of the Bar, Commercial Litigation, Memphis Business Journal (2023)
Federal Bar Association Mid-South Chapter President (2026), Board (2022-Present)
Leo Bearman Sr. Chapter of American Inns of Court, Pupil (2015-2016), Barrister (2024-Present)
Managing Editor, Vol. 46 University of Memphis Law Review
Law Clerk to the Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (2016-2017)
Law Clerk to the Honorable Bernice B. Donald, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2017-2018)

Publications and Presentations of Note

Co-presenter, “Citizens to Preserve Overton Park at 50 and the Byhalia Pipeline,” Federal Bar Association, Midsouth Chapter Annual Seminar (October 2021)
Co-presenter, “Litigating a Federal Case from Start to Finish,” Memphis Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division Rookie Lawyers Series (October 2021)
Co-presenter, “Byhalia Pipeline and Eminent Domain,” Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court Meeting (September 2021)
Co-presenter, “Accommodation in the Workplace,” Memphis Bar Association Labor and Employment Seminar (December 2019)
Presenter, “Keeping up with the Latest Sixth Circuit Trends,” Memphis Bar Association Corporate Counsel Seminar (November 2019)
Presenter, “A Sixth Circuit Update: Trends of a Changing Court,” Memphis Bar Association Buy-the-Hour Seminar (July 2019)
Regular contributor, BPJ Your Business & the Law: A Labor & Employment Newsletter (Monthly newsletters can be found by going to www.bpjlaw.com/firm/newsletters)
Author, “Your Employee Gets Arrested: Now What?” BPJ Labor & Employment Newsletter, (April 2019)
Author, “Responding to a Data Breach,” BPJ Labor & Employment Newsletter, (February 2019)
Author, “A Preview of Upcoming Supreme Court Workplace Issues,” HR Professionals Magazine, (November 2018)
Author, “Remembering Dr. King’s Last Legal Battle,” JUDICATURE Vol. 102 No. 2 (Summer 2018)
Author, Note, No Safe Harbors: Examining the Shift from Voluntary Treatment Option to Criminalization of Maternal Drug Abuse in Tennessee, 46 U. MEM. L. REV. 203 (2015)
Author, Case Comment, Balancing the Focus on Foreseeability: Cullum v. McCool & Tennessee’s Test for Business Liability for Third Party Acts, 45 U. MEM. L. REV. (2015)