Venkatesh Sasthakonar came to Barket Epstein in 2018 having been arrested and charged with strangling a nurse in the hospital where he was a surgeon. As media from across the nation picked up on the arrest, his employer suspended him, and his sterling reputation, life and livelihood were in free fall.
Under the leadership of Bruce Barket, on March 27, 2024, Dr. Sasthakonar became a fully vindicated man—the criminal charges having been dropped, a jury verdict in civil court having unanimously denied all of the claims against him, and the jury instead finding unanimously that his alleged “victim” had falsified the allegations and committed a false arrest, abuse of process, and malicious prosecution.
This representation spanned six years and comprised vigorous investigative work, successful summary judgment motion practice, successful pretrial motions, and a dominant performance at trial—and in the process it pulled from a diverse set of skills and attorneys from within the firm. Barket led the charge at trial second-seated by Alexander Klein, and they drew from critical intelligence generated by the investigative work of David Ayres. This representation reflects the firm operating and winning on all cylinders.
