Frank T. Xu
Top rated Employment Litigation attorney in Washington, Washington DC
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP
Practice areas: Employment Litigation, Employment & Labor; view more
Licensed in Washington DC since: 2020
Education: The George Washington University Law School
Languages spoken: Chinese-Mandarin, English
Selected to Rising Stars: 2024 - 2026 Call today:
202-221-4003
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP
700 Pennsylvania Avenue SESuite 300
Washington, DC 20003 Visit website
Dedicated to helping employees fight against their employers in cases of workplace injustice, Frank T. Xu ensures that his clients find a strong voice and a reliable advocate in him. Working from his office at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP, in Washington, D.C., he extends his services to individuals across the country. He represents clients with extensive legal knowledge, concentrating on whistleblower, qui tam and employment discrimination cases.
Focusing exclusively on individual representation, Mr. Xu combines sharp legal strategy with an advanced data privacy background. As a Certified Information Privacy Professional (U.S.), he leverages a deep knowledge of privacy frameworks to navigate complex corporate disclosures and tech-driven fraud. He rigorously analyzes technical evidence, safeguards client anonymity and shields courageous insiders from retaliation to ensure their voices drive maximum impact.
Pursuing his legal degree at The George Washington University Law School (GW Law), Mr. Xu received his Juris Doctor with honors. While at GW Law, he served as managing editor for the George Washington Journal of Energy and Environmental Law and as student attorney for the DC Law Students in Court, helping the city’s tenants in landlord-tenant disputes.
Building on his steadfast commitment to individual representation, Mr. Xu further elevates his client advocacy through national recognition. Selected for the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers, he brings a tested trial approach to every case. This accolade reinforces his dedication to standing up for individuals, combining high-stakes courtroom readiness with sophisticated data privacy insight to deliver relentless, top-tier protection for those who dare to speak out.
Practice areas
Employment Litigation: Plaintiff, Employment & Labor: EmployeeFocus areas
Employment Discrimination, Retaliation, Sexual Harassment, Wage & Hour Laws, Whistleblower
- 80% Employment Litigation: Plaintiff
- 20% Employment & Labor: Employee
First Admitted: 2019, New York
Professional Webpage: https://sanfordheisler.com/team/frank-xu/
Bar / Professional Activity
- New York, 2019
- Maryland, 2021
- District of Columbia, 2020
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Mr. Xu served as co-counsel for the relator, Blackbird Special Project, in a California False Claims Act qui tam lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California against Invitation Homes, the largest single-family corporate landlord in America. In October 2024, Invitation Homes agreed to a $19.9 million settlement to resolve claims brought by our whistleblower client on behalf of 35 cities across California. Our client received roughly 20 percent of the settlement, or $4.6 million. The Complaint alleged that Invitation Homes conducted extensive renovations on some 12,000 single-family homes without obtaining the required building permits from local cities and municipalities. Invitation Homes failed to obtain the permits to avoid permit fees and property tax increases, which deprived 35 cities of much-needed funds and caused safety risks to tenants., 2024
Representative Clients
- Mr. Xu is a co-counsel at the firm representing Flannery and Liam Gallagher, the adult children of Frank Gallagher Jr., in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Baltimore, its affiliated St. Mary’s Seminary and University, and the seminary’s owner, Society of St. Sulpice. The plaintiffs' father died of a drug overdose in 2022, which was the culmination of lifelong trauma he suffered from being sexually abused at age 14 by a St. Mary’s seminarian, and the defendants' failure to protect him from a pedophile. The complaint alleges wrongful death on the basis of negligence, gross negligence and fraudulent concealment against the defendants for harboring a sexual predator and failing to provide a safe working environment at the time that Mr. Gallagher was employed as a minor at St. Mary’s. On behalf of Mr. Gallagher's adult children, the lawsuit seeks compensatory and non-economic damages., 2024
- Mr. Xu is a co-counsel at the firm representing Christine Janning, a commercial airline pilot, in a civil action against Southwest Airlines, Co., Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA), and Captain Michael Haak, pending in the Circuit Court for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Florida. The complaint alleges that Captain Haak, a Southwest pilot with a decades-long history of sexual misconduct that Southwest repeatedly failed to address, deliberately assumed command of a Philadelphia-to-Orlando flight on which Ms. Janning was serving as First Officer, bolt-locked the cockpit door in violation of federal law to trap her in the confined flight deck, and sexually assaulted her while threatening to crash the aircraft if she resisted. The lawsuit further alleges that Southwest and SWAPA, rather than supporting Ms. Janning, retaliated against her for reporting the assault to the company and the FBI, defamed her to colleagues and union officials, and conspired to conceal Captain Haak's history of predation. The complaint asserts claims for negligent supervision and retention, sexual assault and battery, false imprisonment, retaliation and hostile work environment under the Florida Civil Rights Act, and seeks compensatory, punitive, and exemplary damages on Ms. Janning's behalf., 2026
- Mr. Xu is counsel at the firm representing Steven Adler, a former Vice President of Manufacturing and Chief Technology Officer at The Sporn Company, Inc., in a qui tam lawsuit under the Federal False Claims Act against TSC, its subsidiary Bixler's Jewelers, and TSC's owner and CEO Perry Sporn. Beginning in June 2016, Defendants manufactured fine jewelry at facilities in Montreal, Canada and imported it into the United States without permanently marking the jewelry with its Canadian country of origin while simultaneously marketing the jewelry to consumers as American-made. Despite Relator's repeated warnings to Mr. Sporn and other TSC executives that the unmarked imports violated federal marking regulations and triggered a 10% customs duty obligation, Defendants deliberately ignored the law, feigned compliance by attaching country-of-origin labels to shipping bags that were stripped before goods reached consumers, and failed to disclose or remit the marking duties owed to the U.S. Government on hundreds of separate importations totaling more than $14 million in jewelry. The complaint alleges violations of the reverse false claims provision of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1)(G), and seeks treble damages, civil penalties, and Relator's share of any recovery on behalf of the United States., 2024
- Mr. Xu is counsel for the plaintiff in Elsie E. Dominguez v. United States of America, in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Plaintiff Ms. Dominguez alleges that she was raped by the Captain of the USNS Carson City, a naval vessel operated by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (“MSC”). The sexual assault occurred while Ms. Dominguez was serving as the ship's 1st Assistant Engineer. The lawsuit alleges that the United States was negligent under the Jones Act and failed to provide a seaworthy vessel under general maritime law. The Complaint alleges that the United States, through its agents in the U.S. Navy and MSC, failed to protect Ms. Dominguez from sexual assault by her commanding officer; failed to provide safe working conditions aboard the vessel, in accordance with the Navy’s own stated rules for its ships; and failed to maintain an adequate system for reporting sexual assault., 2024
Special Licenses / Certifications
- Certified Information Privacy Professional - U.S. (CIPP/US), 2025
Educational Background
- B.A., University of Toronto, with High Distinction
Other Outstanding Achievements
- George Washington Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, Managing Editor
- University of Toronto Environmental Action’s Legal Action Group, Founding Member
- Douglas Pimlott Graduating Scholarship Recipient
- Jane Goodall Scholarship Recipient
Honors
- 2023 National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers
- 2026, 2025, 2024 Super Lawyers Washington DC Rising Stars
Office location for Frank T. Xu
700 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: 202-221-4003
Selections
- Rising Stars: 2024 - 2026
