Monthly Feature: Get to Know... Sara Visingard
August 1, 2024
Sara Visingard is tough. She has to be. As a management side labor and employment and school attorney working with private and public sector employers, school districts and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), her days are an ongoing parade of workplace and student investigations, trainings, representing employers, school districts and BOCES in proceedings brought before federal and state agencies, and consultations with employers, school districts and BOCES, regarding wage and hour issues, antidiscrimination and laws, disability accommodation matters, employee and student discipline issues, facilities and operations issues and Board of Education matters, to name a few.
Sara is caring and compassionate. She has to be. While balancing the rights of employers and employees, Sara has to understand the legal and practical nuances of these matters to help resolve complex issues often affecting people’s livelihoods, as well as the education and well-being of students. Sara assumes this responsibility with a steadfast commitment to do what is right.
“I love the work that I do and the longstanding relationships I have with our clients in both the private and public sectors, some spanning 20 years. Clients become friends and some almost like family.”
Sara believes that raising four active, wonderful and very different children has caused her to grow as a person and as a professional. “Before having kids in school, I approached school district and BOCES employee discipline cases differently than I do now. As a parent, I have met many amazing, selfless and dedicated teachers, administrators and staff members along the way. I have better perspective as a mom. We are fortunate to evolve as people and professionals.”
Post pandemic, for example, she’s seen an uptick in discipline cases involving substance usage. “We have seen more employees come to work under the influence of alcohol or drugs. My approach to those cases has become a bit more sympathetic. People are often in a really bad place. Anyone can get there. Recognizing the need for accountability but also the human aspects of these issues is a difficult but important balance. People make mistakes and there necessarily are consequences, but help is always available.”
Sara’s four children range in age from 8 to 18 years of age, with the eldest a third-generation Nazareth University student. Two of Sara’s children were adopted from Korea. She always planned to adopt and involved her two older children in the process. The adoption process was extensive, taking place over several years as her son and daughter were adopted at different times. The family took multiple trips to Korea. “Everyone grew to love Korea, and our children’s foster families there. Our children are such a blessing. We stay in touch with their foster families through Facebook and with visits and hope to travel back to Korea soon.”
Sara initially began a course of study in social work at Nazareth University in Rochester. While she ultimately decided that social work was not the direction she wanted to take her career, her desire to make a difference in people’s lives has never wavered.
She switched to an economics major and a pre-law concentration while at Nazareth. At that time, Sara wasn’t yet thinking of practicing school or labor and employment law, but during her first year of law school, labor law clicked. That initial interest developed further during law school when she learned about plaintiffs’ employment litigation working at a small firm in Rochester. In time she would gravitate to the management side, having grown up in a family business.
As luck would have it, one of her colleagues at the small firm connected her to the labor and employment practice group leader at the firm where Sara ultimately worked for almost 20 years out of law school. Sara was on her way, working as a labor and employment and school attorney. Her work with school districts and BOCES resonated immediately, with its focus on protecting children, something Sara is incredibly passionate about.
After close to 20 years at another firm in the Rochester area, Sara and several of her labor and employment and school law colleagues made the decision to join Bond’s Rochester and Buffalo offices. That seed was cultivated through the connections she made with other Bond attorneys through the New York State Association of School Attorneys (NYSASA). A past president of NYSASA, Sara met and got to know Bond attorneys Candace Gomez and Alyson Mathews through that organization and began to sense that Bond might be a good fit. Ultimately, she and several colleagues made the leap to join Bond’s deep bench of labor and employment and school attorneys statewide.
“This network of smart and experienced attorneys who are good people at the core is my favorite part of Bond so far. The breadth of knowledge and teamwork and the “people first” culture is refreshing and makes me proud to now call Bond home.”
When Sara is not busy chasing her children around to various sporting events, she enjoys giving back to her community through Rotary International and other civic and charitable engagements. She enjoys volunteering with her children as much as possible. Sara also enjoys working out, hiking and a good Italian Sunday dinner.
