Sara EberFowler

she/her/hers

Partner

Sara helps employers craft employment policies, and investigate and effectively respond to workplace complaints. She also vigorously defends employers against claims of harassment, discrimination, and denial of other employment laws.


More About Sara

Clients often need guidance in minimizing legal risks from their employees. If litigation arises, clients must counter employee claims in a way that is consistent with their business values and objectives. Sara works with clients in responding to complex employee requests for leave or accommodations, investigating workplace complaints, creating employment policies to reduce risk, and defending allegations of discrimination and harassment in court.

Sara realizes that success looks different to each client. No matter the setting, Sara works with clients to understand their goals and constraints, such as budget, timing, and other business considerations. This helps her understand how to best serve her clients' objectives. Understanding this foundation, Sara and her clients work to create a plan toward achieving a winning result.

Sara has a great deal of experience defending against employment claims in court and other adversarial settings, including jury trials. She leverages her litigation experience in her employment counseling and investigatory work, understanding how events can later be perceived by a judge or jury. With that insight, Sara guides employers to proactively address workplace disputes with the goal of preventing litigation, or otherwise placing employers in the most defensible legal position.

Outside of the courtroom, Sara regularly advises employers on compliance with a wide range of employment laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other leave and accommodation laws. She also helps large national retail clients comply with employee scheduling laws, like predictable scheduling. In doing so, she regularly revises and prepares policies designed to achieve compliance with these myriad employment statutes. Additionally, Sara has conducted numerous workplace investigations into allegations of sexual and racial harassment, and guided clients on the appropriate remedial responses.

Sara believes that communication is critical to any engagement. Employment law is inherently about people—having personal contact throughout an engagement is critical to understanding the clients' goals, and making sure those goals are achieved. Ensuring transparency in a project or lawsuit is key to her clients' success.

Sara loves being on a team of thoughtful, creative labor and employment attorneys who are dedicated to the human experience. She appreciates that her Seyfarth colleagues value each other, their clients, and their communities.

  • JD, Loyola University Chicago School of Law

    Cum laude
    Loyola Law Journal
    National Moot Court Team
    National Child Welfare and Adoption Law Moot Court Team

  • BA, University of Michigan

    With distinction

  • Illinois
  • US District Court, District of Colorado
  • US District Court, Central District of Illinois
  • US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • US District Court, Northern District of Indiana
  • US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • Illinois Supreme Court