Frank T. Xu

Frank Tong Xu stands as a Senior Litigation Counsel at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP, focusing his professional proficiency on whistleblower, qui tam and employment discrimination cases. Specifically, Frank’s practice has focused on representing corporate whistleblowers who have exposed government contract procurement fraud, banking misconduct, securities fraud, cybersecurity deficiencies, and other corporate malfeasance. He serves individual clients in Washington, D.C., and across the nation. Working alongside a skilled team of lawyers at the firm, he has represented clients such as:

•        an IT analyst suffering retaliation for reporting fraudulent corporate behavior;
•        a finance associate witnessing fraudulent trading and subjected to retaliation;
•        a female staff member unjustly denied advancement opportunities; and
•        a driver succumbing to vindictive responses after exposing unlawful wage disparities.

Since joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Frank has been recognized in the legal community as a member of the 2024 Washington DC Rising Stars list and as one of The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in 2023.

Presently, Mr. Xu is engaged in the representation of plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Baltimore, its associated institute, St. Mary’s Seminary & University, and the owning body of the seminary, the Associated Sulpicians of the United States, in a wrongful death lawsuit connected to the demise of the plaintiffs' father in 2022. Additionally, he played a significant role in filing legal complaints on behalf of two U.S. Merchant Marine Academy students, eventually leading to a settlement. The case spurred Congress to enact legislation mandating the implementation of notable changes to mitigate the risk of sexual assault and harassment on commercial ships.

Mr. Xu obtained his J.D. cum laude from the George Washington University Law School in 2018 and secured a Bachelor of Arts with high distinction from the University of Toronto in 2014. During his academic years at the university, he was honored with the Jane Goodall Scholarship and the Douglas Pimlott Graduating Scholarship. While at law school, Mr. Xu was a managing editor for the George Washington Journal of Energy and Environmental Law, participated in the GW Law Mock Trial Board and represented low-income D.C. tenants amid landlord-tenant disputes as a student attorney in the D.C. Law Students in Court Clinic. Furthermore, he has gained valuable experience interning at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where he provided support for environmental litigation initiatives.

Prior to his association with Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, LLP, Mr. Xu concluded a clerkship under Judge William M. Jackson of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. When Frank is not lawyering, he enjoys watching basketball and baseball, as he is an avid enthusiast and supporter of the Oklahoma City Thunder and his hometown Toronto Blue Jays.