Max Shifrin: Sara Haines’ Husband, Legal Career, and Family Life
Have you ever watched Sara Haines on TV and wondered about the man she married? Her husband, Max Shifrin, lives a much quieter public life. He is not a TV star. His main career is law.
Max Shifrin is a New York lawyer and a partner at BakerHostetler. His work deals with business disputes, court cases, appeals, and large sets of evidence. He is also a husband and a father of three.
His story is interesting because his work life is very different from his wife’s public career. Haines speaks to a national TV audience. Shifrin spends much of his work behind the scenes, helping clients solve hard legal problems.
This article looks at his career, marriage, family, and life today. It also explains the parts of his legal work that make his career stand on its own.
Quick Bio
| Full Name | Maximillian S. Shifrin |
| Known As | Max Shifrin |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Current Role | Partner at BakerHostetler |
| Main Practice | Commercial litigation |
| Law School | Brooklyn Law School |
| New York Bar Admission | 2011 |
| Wife | Sara Haines |
| Marriage | Married since 2014 |
| Children | Alec, Sandra, and Caleb |
Who Is Max Shifrin?
Max Shifrin is an attorney based in New York. BakerHostetler lists him as a partner in its New York office. He works mainly on commercial litigation.
In simple terms, that means he helps clients deal with business fights that may lead to court. Some cases involve contracts. Others can involve money, claims, records, or large groups of documents.
His clients have included banks, developers, public agencies, hotels, insurers, software firms, and other large groups. His work can involve both state and federal courts.
Many people know his name because he is married to Sara Haines. She is a co-host of The View and has worked on other ABC shows. Still, his own career has a clear path outside TV.
His Work in Commercial Litigation
Commercial litigation can be hard to explain because much of it happens out of public view.
A lawyer in this field may review a claim, study records, speak with a client, plan a court case, or try to settle a fight before trial. The work can last for months or years.
According to BakerHostetler, Max Shifrin handles complex business disputes for clients from many fields. The firm says he has worked on cases in state and federal courts across the United States.
His role can begin before a case reaches trial. He may help a client weigh risk and plan the next move. If a case does go to court, the work may include motions, evidence, witness issues, and appeals.
This helps explain why his job is more than a simple title. A partner at a large law firm may lead teams, guide case plans, and help clients make choices when a dispute carries real cost.
What Commercial Litigation Work Involves
Commercial litigation is a broad field, so the title can sound vague until you look at the work behind it. A dispute may begin with a broken contract, a failed business deal, a payment problem, a claim of misconduct, or a disagreement over legal duties. The lawyer’s job is to understand the facts, identify the legal issues, and help the client choose a practical response.
That response does not always mean going straight to trial. Many disputes are resolved through negotiation, motion practice, mediation, or settlement. When a case continues, attorneys may interview witnesses, review financial records, prepare written arguments, question experts, and organize evidence for the court.
Large cases create another challenge: information volume. A company may hold years of email, contracts, internal messages, spreadsheets, and database records. Lawyers must decide what is relevant, what is protected, what must be produced, and how to meet court deadlines without losing control of the case.
This is where Shifrin’s discovery leadership becomes easier to understand. The role combines legal analysis with organization, technology, and team management. It also requires constant communication with clients, other lawyers, and the court. For a reader who only knows him through Sara Haines, this part of his career shows why his professional work has its own weight.
A Major Role in Madoff-Related Cases
One of the clearest parts of Max Shifrin’s public legal record is his work linked to the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities liquidation.
BakerHostetler has served as counsel to the trustee in that long-running matter. The firm says Shifrin leads its Discovery Management team for the work.
Discovery is the part of a case where each side asks for and reviews evidence. In a small case, that may mean a limited set of files. In a large case, it can mean huge amounts of data.
The firm says his team helps set discovery plans across hundreds of lawsuits. It also manages the review and production of very large sets of data.
His name appears in federal court records tied to Madoff cases as well. Those records show him acting as counsel in real court matters, not only appearing in a firm bio.
That gives readers a useful view of his work. He has dealt with cases where the size of the evidence alone can be a major legal task.
Appeals and Pro Bono Work
His career is not limited to business suits.
BakerHostetler says Max Shifrin also spends time on pro bono work. Pro bono work is legal help given without the normal fee. It often serves people who could not pay for a lawyer on their own.
The firm says he has represented people in appeals and worked on amicus briefs. An amicus brief is a filing from a person or group that is not a direct party in a case but has useful legal views to offer.
His name appears on a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the Curtis Lovelace case. He was listed as one of the lawyers for groups that filed in support of the petitioner.
This side of his career is worth noting because it shows a broader use of his legal skills. His main job may center on business cases, but his court work has also reached public-interest and appeal matters.
Brooklyn Law School and His Start in Law
Max Shifrin graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2010.
Super Lawyers lists Brooklyn Law School as his legal education. It also says he was admitted to practice in New York in 2011.
A Brooklyn Law School library post from 2009 named him as a member of the Brooklyn Law Review and part of the Class of 2010.
Law review work often asks students to read cases with care and write in a clear, exact way. Those skills fit well with a later career in litigation.
After law school, he entered legal practice and built experience in business cases. He later became a partner at BakerHostetler.
His current role shows a career that has moved well beyond entry-level legal work. He now handles large disputes and helps lead work that can involve many cases at once.
What His Court Record Shows
Public court documents add another layer to the picture of Max Shifrin’s work. Federal filings list him as counsel in disputes connected with the Madoff liquidation, and Supreme Court filings also show his name on appellate briefs. These records matter because they document active participation in complex litigation rather than simply repeating a job description from a company profile.
Court work of this scale requires careful coordination. Attorneys must follow procedural rules, protect privileged material, organize evidence, answer requests from opposing counsel, and present legal arguments in a form judges can use. When litigation involves many related cases, those duties become more demanding because one discovery decision can affect several matters at once.
The work also helps explain why BakerHostetler describes him as a leader in discovery management. Modern business litigation can involve email archives, databases, financial records, contracts, and other digital material. Managing that information requires legal judgment as well as technical organization.
Professional Recognition and Experience
Independent legal directories also provide context for his career. Super Lawyers lists Maximillian S. Shifrin as a New York business litigation attorney, notes that he graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 2010, and records his New York admission in 2011. The directory also lists him among Rising Stars selections for a number of years.
That recognition does not define his career by itself, but it supports the broader professional picture shown by his firm profile and court records. Max Shifrin has spent years working in commercial litigation and has moved into a partner role with responsibility for complex matters.
His career also shows how legal work can grow in scope over time. A young lawyer may begin by researching issues, drafting motions, reviewing evidence, and helping senior attorneys prepare cases. A partner may still do those tasks, but also takes on more responsibility for strategy, client advice, team management, and major decisions.
A Career That Is Separate From Television Fame
It is easy to reduce the spouse of a well-known television host to a supporting role, but that description misses the professional record here. Shifrin’s legal work existed outside entertainment coverage and can be traced through a law firm profile, court filings, legal directories, and appellate briefs. Those sources show sustained work in commercial litigation rather than a career created by celebrity attention.
His position also carries responsibilities that are different from the public demands of daytime television. A television host has to communicate clearly in real time, respond to breaking topics, and build trust with viewers. A litigation partner must analyze evidence, protect a client’s interests, supervise legal teams, and make strategic decisions under strict procedural rules.
The contrast helps explain why the couple attracts interest. Their careers operate in separate professional settings, yet both depend on preparation, judgment, and communication. That gives readers a fuller view of the marriage without turning it into a celebrity story alone.
How Max Shifrin Met Sara Haines
Their love story began online.
Sara Haines has said she met her future husband through OkCupid while she was working at Today. In a Glamour interview, she said a producer helped make an online dating profile for a TV segment.
When the segment ended, she kept the profile.
Haines said she was serious about meeting a partner, so she kept using online dating instead of waiting for love to happen by chance. Max Shifrin later saw her profile.
The two matched and began talking.
A later interview with the couple gave more detail about the first date. They met soon after matching online. Haines said she fell harder and faster at first, while he took more time to see the relationship as a long-term one.
The story feels very normal by celebrity standards. They did not meet at an awards show or on a TV set. They met on a dating site.
Their Marriage and the Way They Talk About It
Sara Haines and Max Shifrin married in November 2014.
Haines has spoken with unusual honesty about marriage. She has not framed it as a perfect love story where two people never struggle.
In her Glamour interview, she spoke about choice, trust, and the work needed to build a life with another person. She also said they had used therapy to help them communicate.
That is an important part of their public story. It makes the relationship feel less polished and more real.
They have been married for more than a decade. During that time, Haines has moved through several major TV roles. Their family has also grown from two people to five.
Her public comments suggest that they approach marriage as a team. They may have different jobs and different levels of fame, but both have had to adjust as work and family changed.
Their Three Children
The couple has three children.
Their first child, Alec Richard, was born in March 2016. Their daughter, Sandra Grace, was born in December 2017. Their younger son, Caleb Joseph, arrived in June 2019.
ABC News covered the births of Sandra and Caleb.
When Sandra was born, Haines shared that the baby was named after her mother. When Caleb arrived, ABC reported that his name honored Haines’s grandfather and brother.
Those details show how family names played a part in the choices they made for their children.
Haines often talks about parenting in interviews and on TV. Her husband appears far less often in public, but he is part of many of the family stories she shares.
Their home life also gives context to Haines’s comments about work. Raising three children while both parents have demanding careers can create real pressure. She has spoken openly about that balance over the years.
Two Careers in Very Different Worlds
On the surface, their jobs could not look more different.
Sara Haines works in front of cameras. Her job asks her to speak, react, interview guests, and share parts of her life with viewers.
Max Shifrin works in law. His job depends on private talks with clients, written filings, court rules, evidence, and legal plans.
Still, both careers need strong communication. Both can also bring long days and hard deadlines.
Haines has spoken about support from her husband during stressful points in her TV career. That support matters because public work can bring its own kind of pressure.
At the same time, his legal career has its own demands. Large court cases can involve tight schedules, long records, and high stakes.
Their marriage sits between those two worlds. One career is very public. The other is much less visible.
Why People Keep Searching for Max Shifrin
Many readers first search his name because they watch Sara Haines.
They may want to know who her husband is, what he does, how they met, or how many children they have. Those are natural questions.
But his career adds more depth to the answer.
He is an established attorney with a record in business litigation, large discovery matters, appeals, and pro bono work. His role at BakerHostetler gives him a professional identity that does not depend on his wife’s fame.
That is the main point readers should take away. The marriage explains the public interest. His legal career explains the work he has built for himself.
His legal record also helps readers understand how business litigators manage evidence, negotiation, appeals, technology, client strategy, and complex document systems.
Max Shifrin’s Life Today
As of 2026, BakerHostetler lists Max Shifrin as a partner in New York.
His firm profile says he continues to work on complex commercial cases. It also highlights his role in discovery work tied to the Madoff liquidation and his time spent on pro bono matters.
He remains married to Sara Haines, and they are raising their three children. Recent coverage still identifies the couple together.
He does not have the same public profile as his wife. That fits his career. Most lawyers do not build a public brand in the way TV hosts do.
His life today can be summed up without hype. He is a working lawyer, a law firm partner, a husband, and a father. His public record shows a career built through legal work rather than celebrity attention.
Final Thoughts
Max Shifrin may be best known to TV viewers as Sara Haines’s husband, but that is only part of his story.
His career includes commercial litigation, major discovery work, appeals, court filings, and pro bono service. He also shares a long marriage and three children with one of daytime TV’s familiar faces.
The two parts of his life are very different, but they fit together in an interesting way. One side is public and seen on TV. The other is built around law, clients, and court work.
That is what makes his story worth reading. He is connected to a famous name, yet his own career has clear weight and a long record behind it.
For another carefully researched look at the person beside a familiar TV face, visit LakewoodScoop.co.uk and read our Peter Buchignani profile, which explores Carley Shimkus’s husband, education, finance career, and family life.