Sara Fitzpatrick represents clients in all facets of commercial litigation. Prior to joining Keker, Van Nest & Peters, Sara served as a law clerk for Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court of the District of Northern California and Justice Susan Carney of the Alaska Supreme Court. She also served as a staff attorney for Legal Services of Northern California where she represented low-income clients in civil and administrative cases from intake through litigation or settlement.
Sara earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. in political science from Swarthmore College. While in law school, she served as an intern for Protect Democracy and the ACLU of Michigan.
We represented three immigrant families intentionally separated by the Trump Administration in 2018. Asserting novel claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act, we vigorously pursued the case until the eve of trial, when the government agreed to the largest settlement out of any of the 50 similar cases filed nationwide.
With GLAD Law and NCLR, we represent military families challenging the Department of Defense’s sudden decision to prohibit military clinics and hospitals from providing necessary medical care for transgender military dependents. The new policy also prohibits the military’s insurance plan from covering treatment for transgender young adults. We are proud to represent military families seeking to reinstate the healthcare they have relied upon for years.
We are challenging the inclusion of a “loyalty question” seeking fealty to the Trump-Vance administration on thousands of federal civil service job applications. The case alleges violations of the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. The court heard our motion for preliminary injunction.
Unions argued before a Massachusetts federal judge that the Trump administration's hiring practices pressure applicants to pledge loyalty to the president's political agenda, and urged the court to block a controversial question appearing in federal job applications, reports Law360. Read more
Law.com featured Keker, Van Nest & Peters’ filing of a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s “loyalty question” on civil service job applications, a new requirement that asks candidates to explain how they would “help advance the president’s executive orders and policy priorities.” Read more
Despite the lapse in government funding, and the furloughing of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the government continues to post new job opportunities, with a new and unlawful essay seeking loyalty to President Trump. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and National Association of Government Employees, Inc. (NAGE) filed a lawsuit today challenging the inclusion of a “loyalty question” seeking fealty to the Trump-Vance administration on federal civil service job applications, noting that more than 1,700 job posts have included the essay question since October 1. The unions are represented by Democracy Forward, Protect Democracy, and Keker, Van Nest and Peters LLP. Read more
At Keker, Van Nest & Peters, pro bono work is an integral part of our firm. From challenging illegal mass deportation tactics, to pushing for criminal justice reform, to fighting for the rights of individuals and families, our attorneys take up causes that encapsulate our belief that lawyers have a duty to protect the rule of law and ensure access to justice. Read more
Sharif Jacob, a partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters who is representing the plaintiffs, said the executive order is "an alarming example of presidential overreach." Read more
Three military families are challenging an abrupt reversal of Department of Defense policy which now prohibits military clinics and hospitals from providing continuing medical care for their transgender adolescent and adult children. The new policy also prohibits TRICARE, the military insurance plan, from covering the costs of care for both transgender youth and young adults no matter where it is received. Read more
In a Law360 Expert Analysis column, Brook Dooley, Sara Fitzpatrick, and Britta Kajimura analyze the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Kousisis v. U.S., a case addressing the so-called fraudulent inducement theory of mail and wire fraud under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Sections 1341 and 1343. Read more
In a landmark legal victory, three immigrant families have secured sizable settlements from the U.S. government for trauma suffered during family separations at the southern border in 2018. The settlement, announced in November 2024, represents the largest payout among dozens of similar cases nationwide stemming from the controversial Trump-era family separation policy. Read more
Keker attorneys Brook Dooley, Sara Fitzpatrick and Britta Kajimura analyze Thompson v. United States, a case that goes before the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 14 that could add to the court’s recent line of cases narrowing the reach of statutes used to prosecute white-collar crime. Read more
Keker, Van Nest & Peters attorneys Brook Dooley and Sara Fitzpatrick discuss the ripple effects of the High Court's Jan. 6 Riot in a recent piece featured on Law360. Read more
Keker, Van Nest & Peters, representing cities and counties across the nation, filed an amicus curiae brief urging the federal circuit to support transgender veterans' access to gender-confirmation surgery. Read more
Just One Cookie? Supreme Court to Decide Liability for Half-Truths, The Recorder, 2025, co-authored with Brook Dooley and Britta Kajimura
High Court's Jan. 6 Rioter Case May Have Wide Ripple Effects, Law360, 2024, co-authored with Brook Dooley