Sarah Decker is a commercial litigator and strategic business advisor in the firm's Pittsburgh office, who concentrates her practice in the manufacturing industry, with a particular focus in the areas of commercial and consumer products, metals manufacturing and fabrication, aerospace, and specialty chemicals. Sarah represents and counsels public and private companies and individuals in a wide variety of complex commercial matters, including contract disputes, business torts, supply chain management, product liability, personal injury, oil and gas, and intellectual property matters. Sarah collaborates with her clients to proactively identify and mitigate business risks by implementation of practical, cost-effective commercial solutions. She efficiently resolves disputes in alignment with her clients’ larger business objectives and also maintains an active trial practice, representing clients in federal and state courts and in domestic and international arbitrations.
Sarah’s defamation experience is significant. She recently secured a non-monetary settlement resulting in pre-discovery voluntary dismissal by a public-figure plaintiff of his defamation suit against a media defendant in Mississippi federal court. In 2016, Sarah was an integral member of a trial team obtaining a US $40.4 million jury verdict for a plaintiff hedge fund manager in a private-figure defamation suit in New Jersey state court. The 2016 verdict (listed as the 45th-highest in the National Law Journal's Top 100 Verdicts of 2016) was upheld in 2019 and has been paid.
Sarah also maintains an active internal investigations practice, conducting domestic and international whistleblower and other investigations and counseling clients on their interactions and cooperation with federal and state agencies. Sarah has advised industrial and chemical manufacturers and financial services corporations in matters involving complex financial reporting, compliance, data breaches, bribery, and fraud.
