Faculty Profile: Sarah Akin

Sarah Henry Akin is currently the senior employment litigator and advisor to UnitedHealth Group's Optum businesses. Optum provides a large scope of heath care services nationwide and globally including pharmacy benefit management, direct patient care programs, and technology solutions assisting patient care.  Akin has spent her career litigating employment and civil rights matters in state and federal courts, as well as handling investigations and hearings before federal and state administrative agencies.  Mrs. Akin has previously served as Assistant General Counsel for a multinational law firm, and counsel to another global Fortune 100 Company where she focused primarily on litigation, employment law and traditional labor relations.  Mrs. Akin is also a former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General where she focused primarily on civil rights defense.

Mrs. Henry Akin maintains an AV peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell.  She has extensive experience conducting management training on labor relations issues, sexual harassment, management best practices and the law, as well as other workplace related issues. She is a frequent speaker on litigation strategies and best practices for corporate counsel as well.

Mrs. Akin has served on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Justice Center as well as the Board of Directors for Young Professionals for the Nashville Children's Alliance.  The Alliance is a partnership between the District Attorney General, the Department of Children's Services and the Metropolitan Police Department designed to investigate and prosecute child abuse cases in Nashville. 

She received her J.D. from Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, and her B.A. Rhodes College.