Sarah Crabtree Perez joined Perez Morris in 2010 and is the firm’s managing partner. She handles commercial litigation, employment, civil rights, supply chain and logistics, and transactional matters. She is an experienced litigator in state and federal courts and in administrative agencies and regulatory bodies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state Civil Rights/Human Rights Commissions and the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board.

She oversees litigation in civil rights defense and Americans with Disabilities accessibility claims nationwide in addition to employment and general litigation for clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to small- and mid-sized regional companies.

Sarah works closely with risk and compliance departments on various insurance and regulatory issues as well as strategies for effective litigation management across the country.

She served as outside general counsel for a national transportation and logistics company. Litigation matters that Sarah handles range from multimillion-dollar class action lawsuits to employment, personal injury and contract disputes. She has negotiated commercial contracts for client customer companies and their vendors as well as revamping company transportation agreements currently in place for more than 1,000 motor carriers.

Sarah is regularly asked to speak on topics related to women’s leadership, business management and strategies for leveraging business for community impact. Sarah is an active champion of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and within her community.

She lives in Worthington, Ohio, with her husband and three children. Sarah is also fluent in Spanish.

Admissions

Ohio

United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 2020

United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2010

Florida, 2014

United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, 2020

Colorado

District of Colorado, 2020

Memberships & Affiliations

• Ohio Women’s Bar Association, Trustee-At-Large, 2020
• National Association of Women Business Owners, Member, 2020
• Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD), Member, 2014 – present
• National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), Law Firm Member, 2010 – present
• Hofstra University Moot Court Board, President and Editor-in-Chief, 2009 – 2010
• Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal, Editorial Board, 2008 – 2010

Presentations

• New Challenges Facing DEI, National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association Annual Conference, February 2024
• Best Practices in Internal Investigations, Huntington Bank Roundtable Summit, October 2022
• Reducing Stigma, Understanding the Law, and Managing Risk with the Changing Face of Disability Claims, Ohio CLE presentation February 2020
• Websites Under Attack! Legal Update & Strategies for Management of ADA Title III Claims, NAMWOLF Driving Diversity & Leadership Conference, February 2020
• Leadership + the Meaningful Story, Panel Presenter, Columbus Retail Re-Thought Conference, May 2019
• Cottage Industry Litigation That Can Cost Your Business, Central Ohio Association of Corporate Counsel, October 2019
• Difficult & Crisis Communication, Panel Presenter, Ohio Women’s Bar Association Leadership Institute, November 2019
• What’s on the Horizon in Transportation? Compliance Considerations and the Impact of Emerging Technology, CLE presentation to Fortune 100 retail client, January 2017
• Beyond the Schoolyard: Workplace Bullying, NAMWOLF Webinar Presentation, July 2015
• Up Close and Personal: Legal Risks Associated with Use of Personality Assessments in the Workplace, NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, September 2015
• Picking Up Where Upjohn Left Off: Best Practices in Attorney-Client Privilege for In-house and Outside Counsel, NAMWOLF Annual Meeting, September 2014

Publications

• Lessons Learned from COVID And Why They Should Stay, Columbus Bar Lawyers Quarterly, Spring 2022
• The 45th Anniversary of Title VII: Where We Are, Where We’ve Been, and Where We May Go, Volume 27.2, Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal, 2010

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

• The Best Lawyers in America®, Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2024
• Columbus Business First, C-Suite Awards Honoree, Most Admired Executives, CEO – Private Companies with 26 to 100 Employees, 2022
• Ohio Rising Star, Ohio Super Lawyers Magazine, 2016 – present
• Medical Mutual’s Pillar Award Recipient, Perez & Morris LLC, 2019
• Ohio Women’s Bar Association, Diversity Champion Award, Perez & Morris LLC, 2019
• Columbus Business First’s 40 Under 40 Honoree, 2018

BOARD POSITIONS & COMMUNITY SERVICE

• The Overcomer Foundation, President & Co-Founder, 2018 – present
• Grant Medical Center, Development Board, Ohio Health Foundation, Board Member 2018 – present
• Women for Economic & Leadership Development (WELD), Calendar Committee Co-Chair, 2015
• National Association for Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), CLE Committee Co-Chair, 2015; Events Committee Member, 2017; Cross-Marketing Committee Member 2017 – present.