Sarah L. Nirenberg

Sarah L. Nirenberg is a Shareholder based in Butzel’s Troy office. Ms. Nirenberg specializes in representing employers for litigation in all areas of employment law, including statutory claims under federal and state law for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and payment of wages. She has experience representing large and small businesses across different industries, as well as public institutions. She advises employers on various matters where the law is constantly evolving, such as employment applications, arbitration agreements, and workplace drug policies. She also helps guide employers through complex wage and hour law as well as investigations conducted by the Department of Labor.

Ms. Nirenberg brings a wealth of trial advocacy and investigatory skills to her practice from having served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office. Outside the courtroom, she uses these skills to conduct sensitive workplace investigations for her clients. Her use of technology and ingenuity has led to obtaining information critical to successfully disposing cases.

Ms. Nirenberg graduated cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law, where she was a member of the National Moot Court Team and an Executive Articles Editor of the Jurisprudence Review. She received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University, where she was a student-athlete on the Varsity Women’s Golf Team.

Practice Highlights

• As a prosecuting attorney, she tried over 25 bench and jury trials.
• Obtained judgment overturning a jury verdict for a small medical practice in an age discrimination case.
• Obtained summary judgment for a global supplier of automotive systems in a lawsuit alleging violations of FMLA, age discrimination, and disability discrimination.
• Obtained summary disposition in the Court of Claims for a public university in a lawsuit brought by a large private hospital for indemnification and contribution on a judgment over one million dollars.
• Obtained summary judgment for a public university in a lawsuit alleging violations of national origin discrimination.

Published Works

• The Resurgence of Secularism: Hostility Towards Religion in The United States and France, 5 Wash. U. Jur. Rev. 131 (2012).
• The impact on employers of legalizing marijuana, LegalNews, May 3, 2018.
• Regulating recreational marijuana in the workplace, KHVPF Insight, February 2019

All Related Practice Areas

Education

Michigan State University, James Madison College and Honor’s College 2009, B.A.

Washington University in St. Louis School of Law 2013, J.D.

Admissions

Memberships

• State Bar of Michigan
• Oakland County Bar Association

Awards & Recognitions

The Best Lawyers in America - Ones to Watch, Labor and Employment Law - Management Litigation; Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2023, 2024

Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s 2022 Class of Up & Coming Lawyers

Michigan Super Lawyers, Rising Stars, 2023