Larkin Walsh

Larkin spent the first eight years of her legal career advising the judiciary, in state and federal court, at both the trial and appellate court levels, as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court, District of Kansas, and as a research attorney for the Kansas Supreme Court.

Larkin’s initial transition to an of-counsel position in private practice allowed her to champion plaintiffs’ rights nationwide in labor and employment, antitrust, and consumer protection through litigation against many of the nation’s top defense firms in our country’s state, federal, and appellate courts.

Larkin is pleased to continue her practice at Sharp Law, where she brings her expertise as a legal writer and researcher to complement and support the firm’s nationwide class action practice. As a partner at the firm, she has expanded her civil rights practice to hold institutions accountable for turning a blind eye to sexual and other abuses.  She is adept at navigating complex legal issues and structuring arguments in thoughtfully crafted briefs and no-nonsense motions designed to pinpoint the relevant issues for the Court and advocate for a favorable ruling. She enjoys the process of weaving facts and law together into a compelling story, at the trial court and appellate court level, and her areas of focus include:

Civil Rights

• In an effort to hold institutions accountable for turning a blind eye to abuse occurring under their watch, Larkin and her colleagues led a group of cases against the U.S. Olympic Committee and its National Governing Bodies (including USA Taekwondo and USA Diving) involving federal claims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) and negligence-based state law claims. These lawsuits have been profiled in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and other national media publications. In their case against USA Taekwondo in federal court in Colorado, Larkin and her team clarified the law on the statute of limitations and the venture theory of liability against institutional defendants who benefit from forced labor and services, and have recovered millions of dollars for deserving clients through settlement.
• As part of their efforts to help improve and clarify the law and protect victims, Larkin and her co-counsel have worked with both sides of the U.S. Senate in Washington D.C. as well as public interest groups to offer draft policy changes.
• Larkin and her team have been pursuing claims against The Ohio State University based on Title IX violations resulting in decades of abuse and exploitation of students and student-athletes, as well as the cover-up of these crimes.

Appellate Practice

• Larkin has a robust appellate practice, including a successful appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit regarding the federal discovery rule’s application to the statute of limitations for Title IX claims
• Larkin and her team successfully appealed an order of dismissal to United States Court of Appeals for Tenth Circuit that involved issues of first impression under Rule 41
• Larkin and the Sharp Law team successfully appealed to United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit regarding procedural and jurisdictional issues of first impression under Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA).
• Larkin successfully appealed to United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit regarding arbitrability of claims under Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).
• Larkin has briefed and argued appeals in the Kansas appellate courts, as well as the Fourth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, and Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Consumer Protection

• Larkin and the Sharp Law team pursued claims on multiple fronts in courts across the country on behalf of property owners who were subject to a sham “administrative fee” and successfully resolved their individual clients’ claims as part of a larger class resolution.
• Larkin was instrumental in settling valuable claims arising out of a “fake sale” national campaign of a major retailer following a successful interlocutory appeal before the 10th Circuit, which affirmed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration.
• Larkin assisted the Sharp Law team in a class action to protect veterans across the United States whose cars were unlawfully repossessed by a major national bank. Following extensive discovery and the filing of a motion for class certification, the bank agreed to a significant class settlement for veterans nationwide under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

Royalty underpayment 

• Larkin and the Sharp Law team regularly pursue class actions for the intentional underpayment of natural gas royalties by some of the largest energy companies in the world in federal and state courts across the country.
• Their federal case against a major British natural gas producer, which settled in 2019 following the addition of a RICO claim based on a long history of defrauding royalty owners, was the largest oil and gas royalty class settlement in the history of Oklahoma.

Labor & Employment

• Larkin led the pursuit of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and wage and hour claims against one of the country’s largest home insurance companies, negotiating a successful individual resolution for a specially-situated client.

Larkin is an engaged and socially conscious attorney, committed to the general and legal community in which she practices. She was appointed in 2014 by the Kansas Supreme Court to serve on the Board of Law Examiners, a ten-member Board of Kansas lawyers and judges tasked with overseeing all matters related to applications for admission, character, and fitness, testing accommodations, temporary permits to practice and legal intern permits for practice in Kansas. Effective 2017, Larkin was selected by the federal district court for the District of Kansas to serve on the Bench-Bar Committee, which serves general advisory and liaison roles with respect to the operation of the court. She subsequently served on an ad hoc committee suggesting revisions to the District of Kansas Local Civil Rules. She co-chaired the Kansas Bar Association’s Annual Survey of Law for 10 years, and remains on the editorial committee. Among other civic and volunteer activities, she served as secretary pro tem of Uncle Sam’s Academy for Tots in Kansas City, Kansas, and as a volunteer and supporter of HALO, serving homeless youth.