Our Team

Sarah Harbison joined the Pelican Institute as General Counsel in January 2020. At the Pelican Institute, Sarah files strategic lawsuits challenging federal overreach and laws that burden economic and individual liberties. Notably, Sarah represented Brandon Trosclair, a Louisiana grocer who was the first to challenge the OSHA vaccine-or-test rule for private employers in the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, resulting in a nationwide stay of the rule, which was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

She also represents a lawyer challenging Louisiana’s mandatory bar membership requirement, a social worker challenging Louisiana’s facility need review laws, and an Arizona small business that can’t afford to make sales to Louisiana customers because the state’s disjointed sales tax collection system discriminates against out-of-state businesses.

Prior to joining the Pelican Institute, Sarah’s civil defense practice focused on products liability litigation. Because politics is her first love, Sarah left full-time law practice in December 2015 to join a Presidential primary campaign. From there, she subsequently advised candidates running for statewide office, including U.S. Senate, treasurer, secretary of state, and governor. A Lafayette native, Sarah is a summa cum laude graduate of Loyola University and Loyola Law School, where she served as a member of the Moot Court staff. She and her husband, Medlock, live in the Garden District in New Orleans with their cats, Beau and Jack. Sarah and Medlock enjoy hiking in our country’s national parks, exploring Civil War battlefields, camping in the Utah mountains, and renovating their 100-year-old home.