Sandman Receives Branton Award From Washington Lawyers' Committee

WASHINGTON, DC — Legal Services Corporation President James J. Sandman received the 2014 Wiley A. Branton Award today for his public service and advocacy of pro bono legal services.

Presented by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the award recognizes members of the legal and civil rights advocacy community whose efforts mirror the deep commitment to equal justice exemplified by distinguished civil rights attorney Wiley A. Branton, Sr.

"It's a great honor for me to receive an award from an organization as preeminent as the Washington Lawyers' Committee and named after the great civil rights hero, Wiley Branton," said Sandman. "I don't think I deserve it, but I'm going to try to earn it."

The award was among those presented June 18 at a luncheon in Washington. Approximately 1,000 attorneys and business leaders attended the event.

Sandman was appointed president of the Legal Services Corporation in January 2011, bringing more than three decades of legal experience to the organization. He practiced with Arnold & Porter LLP from 1977 to 2007 and served as the firm's managing partner from 1995 to 2005. From 2007 to 2011, he served as general counsel for the District of Columbia Public Schools.

Sandman is chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission's District of Columbia State Advisory Committee. He was president of the District of Columbia Bar from 2006-2007 and served on its board of governors from 2003-2008. He is currently chair of the DC Bar's Pro Bono Committee, chair of the District of Columbia Circuit Judicial Conference Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services, and a member of the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission (by appointment of the District Court of Appeals).

Sandman was named one of the "90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years" by the Legal Times in 2008.

Sandman is a graduate of Boston College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Max Rosenn of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974. For 50 years, LSC has provided financial support for civil legal aid to low-income Americans. The Corporation currently provides funding to 130 independent nonprofit legal aid programs in every state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.  