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Sarah Hamill

Sarah Hamill

Associate/Pro Bono Client Partnerships Counsel
Overview

Sarah divides her time between offering advice to clients on labor and employment matters and supporting the firm’s Pro Bono Client Partnerships initiative. She practices from San Diego as a member of our virtual office, The Link.

As a practicing attorney, Sarah is especially passionate about educating clients, helping them develop compliance plans, and enabling them to effect positive change for their employees. She sees herself as just as much of a teacher as she is an attorney: her goal is to help clients understand employment laws and their implications so that they can implement best practices and do the right thing for their employees. She’s known not only for her intelligence, legal acumen, and work ethic, but also for her kindness and her gift for explaining complex legal concepts. First drawn to law and to her practice area by her interest in economic development, Sarah understands how important clients’ businesses are to them, to their workers, and to their communities, and she values the opportunity to help clients ensure that their organizations are excellent places to work.

At the beginning of her career, Sarah devoted two years to federal clerkships in the district courts and worked at a boutique appellate firm. While she no longer litigates, her early experience means that she is well-versed in civil procedure and understands the nuances of litigation well. Her background gives her an inside perspective on where employment practices can go wrong and what proactive steps clients can take to stay out of court. She has previously defended clients in a variety of employment matters, including allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; wage and hour violations; and wrongful termination.

Alongside her work for labor and employment clients, Sarah devotes half of her time to the firm’s pro bono team. At the beginning of 2025, Sarah took on this additional role helping launch and oversee the Pro Bono Client Partnerships initiative. In this role Sarah works with in-house teams to help clients give back to their communities, serving as their partner as they build an in-house pro bono program. Husch Blackwell attorneys then work alongside in-house attorneys to offer various pro bono services.

This role and the program represent one of Sarah’s long-held dreams to work with the pro bono team at an Am Law 100 firm. After earning her undergraduate degree in international development and working in the field in East and West Africa, mentors recommended that she enroll in law school because of the many opportunities a law degree offers to do good. Sarah was absolutely thrilled when the chance arose to develop pro bono programs while simultaneously honing her own skills. She is deeply excited about building partnerships and relationships with both clients and legal service organizations

Service

Recognition

  • Daily Journal CLAY Award, 2024

Education

  • J.D., Pepperdine University School of Law
    • summa cum laude
    • Certificate in Dispute Resolution
    • Certificate in International Comparative Law
    • Pepperdine Law Review, Note and Comment Editor
    • Order of the Coif
  • B.A., Point Loma Nazarene University
    • summa cum laude

Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. District Court, Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Clerkships

  • Honorable Todd W. Robinson, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
  • Honorable Steve Kim, Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Central District of California

Husch Blackwell’s pro bono program is focused primarily on the representation of clients referred to the firm by recognized legal aid agencies or for which the firm has been appointed by a court. It is the firm’s policy to not accept pro bono clients who contact the firm directly seeking representation. If you are seeking pro bono legal services, please consider contacting a legal aid agency in your area or contacting your state’s bar association for assistance in finding a lawyer.



*Contact Sarah to set up an in-person consultation by appointment in the Los Angeles office.

2024 Pro Bono Contributor
Outside the Office

Sarah is at her happiest outside: she loves hiking, paddleboarding, playing pickleball, and pursuing any outdoor adventure she can think of.

She’s also a world traveler who’s visited five of the seven continents (still missing South America and Antarctica). Sarah names eastern Africa as one of her favorite regions in the world, with Rwanda, where she once volunteered for three months with World Relief, holding a particularly special place in her heart.

Community Leadership
  • Rural Health Collaborative; Board of Directors, 2018-present; Board Chair, 2023-present
  • San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, Pro Bono Domestic Violence Attorney, 2023-2024
  • Public Counsel, Volunteer Adoption Attorney, 2019-2021