Sarmad is a first chair trial lawyer and crisis manager. He previously served in leadership in the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he supervised more than 70 criminal and civil federal prosecutors in the Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch. He represents companies and executives in high-stakes commercial litigation, criminal and civil investigations and enforcement actions, and congressional investigations.
Sarmad’s practice focuses on the resolution of business disputes across a broad range of substantive areas, including securities and credit-related matters, contract disputes, corporate governance issues, and general commercial disputes. He also advises clients on sensitive matters, corporate crises, regulatory litigation, and other disputes involving the U.S. federal and state governments, including the DOJ, FTC, and FDA. His clients include public and private companies, private equity and other investment firms, partnerships, and individuals in industries including financial services, real estate, pharmaceuticals, insurance, media, technology, and manufacturing.
Prior to joining the firm, Sarmad served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Division at the DOJ, where he supervised criminal and civil prosecutions and investigations involving food, drugs, medical devices, tobacco products, consumer goods, social media, internet commerce and marketing practices, and violations of the Controlled Substances Act, Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, and the Consumer Product Safety Act. Sarmad also supervised all affirmative litigation initiated by the U.S. to enforce compliance with federal statutory or regulatory programs or to challenge state or private interference with federal constitutional or statutory mandates. His work included spearheading the first-of-its-kind nationwide civil seizure operation for illicit vaping products; successfully resolving False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act opioid-related prosecutions against two of the country’s largest pharmacies; obtaining the largest Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act-related resolution ever attained against a leading social media company; and obtaining the largest criminal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act-related resolution ever attained against a leading global online marketplace. Additionally, he served as the inaugural deputy assistant attorney general for Special Litigation, leading high-profile civil litigation involving administration priorities or senior administration officials. In this role, he prepared senior administration officials to testify before Congress, in district court, and in depositions.
Before entering government, Sarmad spent nearly 20 years as a commercial litigation partner at two global law firms. The New York Law Journal recognized him as a “Rising Star” (2021), and Benchmark Litigation named him a “Future Star” (2024 and 2025) and included him on its “40 & Under Hot List” (2018).