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Judge Kevin Sharp is the Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp’s Nashville office. He joined the firm after serving as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee from May 2011 through April 2017, including service from 2014 to 2017 as the court’s Chief Judge.

In his judicial role, Judge Sharp handled many high-profile cases, including Young v. Giles County Board of Education, granting an injunction against school officials who prevented a student from wearing a shirt that read “Some People are Gay. Get Over It!”; Rodriguez v. Providence Community Corrections, Inc., halting the practice of a private probation company, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, seeking to jail probationers when the only violation alleged was nonpayment of court costs and fines; and Marshall v. ESPN, Inc., et al., a case garnering national attention addressing the right of publicity by college athletes.

Judge Sharp is presently lead counsel in the General Electric ERISA Class Action in which the plaintiffs assert GE and the Plan violated the Federal Employee Retirement Security Act by breaching their fiduciary duties and engaging in prohibited transactions and unlawful self-dealing detrimental to the named plaintiffs and the class. He is also lead counsel in a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Metro Nashville Airport brought by the Airport’s former President and CEO. Additionally, Judge Sharp is lead counsel in an age discrimination collective action against Volkswagen of America and VW AG currently filed in the federal district court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. He further represents multiple Virginia localities, including the City of Alexandria, the City of Winchester, the City of Martinsville, Arlington County, Dickenson County, Lee County, Loudoun County, and Washington County, Virginia, in opioid epidemic investigations and lawsuits that were the first in the Commonwealth pursuing legal action against opioid manufacturers, distributors and pharmacy benefit managers.

Earlier in his career, Judge Sharp served as an attorney in the Office of Compliance of the U.S. Congress from 1996 to 1997. Prior to attending college, he served in the United States Navy, specializing in in-flight communications aboard the P-3 Orion operating in antisubmarine warfare and reconnaissance capacities. Currently Judge Sharp is working with several national organizations on criminal justice and sentencing reform issues.

Location
  • 611 Commerce Street, Suite 3100
    Nashville, TN 37023
Education
  • Vanderbilt University, J.D., graduated 1993
  • Christian Brothers University, B.S., graduated 1990
Bar Admissions
  • Tennessee, 1993
Affiliations
  • American Bar Association - Member
  • American Bar Foundation - Sustaining Life Fellow
  • Federal Bar Association - Member
  • Napier-Looby Bar Foundation - Fellow
  • Nashville Bar Association - Member
  • Nashville Bar Foundation - Fellow
  • Tennessee Bar Association - Member
  • Tennessee Supreme Court Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection (2004-2009) - Board Member
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 for work in:
  • Employment Law - Individuals
Special Focus:
  • Civil Rights
  • Individuals
Awards:
  • 2019 Attorney for Justice, the Tennessee Supreme Court

    2019 Benchmark Litigation Labor & Employment Star - South in the practice area of Labor & Employment

    2018 Benchmark Litigation Labor & Employment Star - South in the practice area of Labor & Employment

    Nashville Business Journal’s Best of the Bar (2003, 2005-2009)

    “Mid-South Super Lawyers” (2007 – 2010)

    2008–2010 and 2020 Best Lawyers in America – Recognized for work in the field of “Employment Law - Individuals”

    Included in Corporate Counsel magazine’s feature The 2009 Best Lawyers Annual Guide to Labor and Employment Law

    Awarded “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell

    Listed in Who’s Who in American Law

  • 2020 Lawdragon 500 Plaintiff Employment Lawyer
  • 2020 benchmark Litigation Labor & Employment Star - South in the practice area of Labor & Employment

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