Sara Champion

Sara Champion coheads the labor and discrimination practice at Cornerstone Research. Dr. Champion leads teams to conduct economic analysis and apply advanced statistical techniques in complex business litigation related to labor, employment, competition, healthcare, and life sciences. She addresses class certification, liability, and damages issues in these contexts, frequently analyzing large, proprietary datasets. Dr. Champion’s work spans numerous industries, including agriculture, banking, consumer products, education, energy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

Dr. Champion’s experience includes assessing equal treatment and equal pay issues in high-profile litigation, government investigations, and preemptive pre-litigation consulting.

Labor, employment, and discrimination

Dr. Champion has substantial expertise in consequential labor and employment matters involving class certification and allegations of discrimination and monopsony power. She has assessed discrimination claims related to admissions decisions, compensation, promotions, and terminations. Her recent work includes:

• Providing economic and statistical support from early discovery phase through trial in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College et al.
• Consulting with numerous educational institutions to model their admissions processes and assess the role of race and legacy preferences in admissions
• Assessing worker classification and damages claims for a large company in the transportation industry
• Estimating damages in a case involving alleged gender discrimination

Antitrust and competition

Dr. Champion analyzes class certification, liability, and damages issues in antitrust and competition matters, including:

• Assessing no-poach allegations in matters related to quick-service restaurant (QSR) workers at McDonald’s and Jimmy John’s franchises
• Analyzing no-poach allegations in multiple matters involving alleged collusion among firms employing healthcare workers
• Analyzing no-poach allegations in matters alleging collusion among employers in several other industries
• Assessing the effect of an alleged recruiting and hiring conspiracy between technology firms in a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation
• Evaluating alleged collusion and price fixing in Southeastern Milk Antitrust Litigation and in a matter involving the retail gasoline market
• Addressing market definition and market power related to alleged monopoly pricing of electronic products

Healthcare and life sciences

Dr. Champion has experience with False Claims Act (FCA) issues, including reimbursement-related disputes. She has also addressed competition issues arising in the healthcare sector, notably those involving health insurance providers and pharmaceutical companies. Representative work includes:

• Assessing allegations of fraudulent pricing and anticompetitive conduct brought against pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)
• Evaluating the competitive impact of proposed divestiture in U.S. v. Aetna/Humana
• Analyzing the competitive impact of alleged reverse payment settlement agreements between pharmaceutical manufacturers

Consumer fraud and product liability

Across a diverse range of cases, Dr. Champion has consulted on alleged consumer fraud, product liability, and general damages issues. Her expertise includes:

• Supporting class certification, damages, and education experts in multiple matters alleging that universities breached their contract with students when switching to remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Performing econometric analysis, including critiquing conjoint survey data and modeling consumer preferences, in the bellwether consumer class action In re Whirlpool Front-Loading Washer Products Liability Litigation
• Estimating damages for high-profile cases involving consumer fraud allegations related to overdraft fees in the banking industry

Prior to joining Cornerstone Research, Dr. Champion was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She has also taught undergraduate courses in statistics.