About Sarah,EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Sarah Clasby Engel received her B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from Boston College in 1990, and her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Miami School of Law in 1993. Ms. Engel was Editor-in Chief of the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review.
LEGAL BACKGROUND
Following law school, Ms. Engel served as the judicial law clerk for the Honorable Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Thereafter, Ms. Engel joined the law firm of Keith Mack Lewis Cohen & Lumpkin as a litigation associate prior to joining the law firm of Steel Hector & Davis LLP where she practiced in the fields of products liability defense, class action defense, accountant malpractice, and insurance defense. In 2000, Ms. Engel, along with her partner Lance Harke, formed the law firm of Harke & Clasby LLP (later known as Harke Clasby & Bushman LLP) and focused her practice on complex commercial litigation, multi-state consumer class action litigation, employment matters and insurance litigation. In 2018, Ms. Engel formed The Engel Firm to continue her commercial litigation practice as well as her mediation practice.
Since 2007, Ms. Engel has also served as a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil mediator and has helped hundreds of parties reach an amicable settlement in both federal and state court matters. Ms. Engel is admitted to practice law in the state of Florida, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Since 2007, Ms. Engel has also served as a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil mediator and has helped hundreds of parties reach an amicable settlement in both federal and state court matters. Ms. Engel is admitted to practice law in the state of Florida, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
During Ms. Engel’s tenure, Harke Clasby & Bushman LLP served as Co-Lead Counsel in eight of the largest settlements obtained on behalf of borrowers against banks over their forced-placed insurance practices. These actions have led to regulatory and structural changes in the forced-placed insurance industry nationwide. See Williams v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al. Case No. 11-21233 (S.D. Fla.) ; Herrick v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al. Case No. 13-21107-CV-FAM (S.D. Fla.); Hall v. Bank of America, N.A., No. 12-cv-22700 (S.D. Fla.) ; Diaz v. HSBC Bank USA, N.A., No. 13-cv-21104 (S.D. Fla.) ; Fladell v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 13-cv-60721 (S.D. Fla.) ; Hamilton v. SunTrust Mortgage Inc., et al., Case No. 13-60749-CIV-JIC (S.D. Fla.) ; Braynen v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, No. 14-cv-20726 (S.D. Fla.) ; Lee v. Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, No. 14-cv-60649 (S.D. Fla.). Indeed, Harke Clasby & Bushman LLP served in leadership positions and helped obtain over $225 million for consumers in both mass tort and class action litigation.
Sarah Clasby Engel is Judicial AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell, which designates the highest level of professional excellence and ethical standards an attorney can receive. An elite group of approximately 10 percent of all attorneys holds an AV Preeminent Rating, a legal designation that is trusted worldwide. She has been named a Super Lawyer by Florida Super Lawyers Magazine and has been named one of South Florida’s Up and Coming Attorneys by the South Florida Legal Guide. Sarah was honored as a South Florida Woman Extraordinaire by Business Leader Media and was named one of the State’s Legal Leaders by Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite. Sarah was also recognized as a Finalist in the Daily Business Review’s Most Effective Lawyers.
PUBLISHED WORKS & SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Panelist, FIFEC (Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee) Conference, 2022-2023
- Panelist, Miami Law Class Action & Complex Litigation Forum, 2017
- Panelist Speaker, Class Action Arbitration, Florida Bar International Litigation and Arbitration Conference, 2010
- Sarah C. Engel & Sherry Tropin, Class Action Arbitration: A Plaintiff’s Perspective, 5 FIU L. Rev.145 (2009)
- Guest Lecturer on Mediation, University of Miami Investor Rights Clinic
- Mediation Confidentiality, published by DCBA Bulletin
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
- Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.
- Pro-Bono Services for Landlord-Tenant Disputes
- Florida Association Women Lawyers, Member
- Educate Tomorrow, Chair of the Board
- Organization assists former foster youth to attend college
- Junior League of Miami, Inc.
- Volunteer for children and families at risk since 1998
- Awarded 2009 MVP volunteer for Project Lift
- March of Dimes Host Committee for fundraiser
- Volunteer Lawyer, Lawyers to the Rescue
