Joseph Sandler (born 1953) is a Washington, D.C. attorney who served as in-house general counsel for the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

from 1993 to 1998 and continued in this role at his firm Sandler, Reiff & Young through 2009. He now serves as an adviser to prominent Democrats, state parties, and progressive organizations, such as

Moveon.org MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroots ...

. Sandler shepherded the Democratic National Committee through massive change, including multiple leadership changes, and the implementation of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, that Sandler famously referred to as a "fascist monstrosity" and accurately predicted would result in the national parties' loss of influence. Sandler was born in 1953 in Baltimore MD, graduated summa cum laude from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

in 1975 and cum laude from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1978. He served as counsel for the

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The conve ...

s; for the

Democratic Governors Association The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide par ...

; and through his law firm, for numerous Democratic state party committees and Democratic and progressive advocacy groups, PACs and candidates. During Sandler’s tenure at the DNC, he defended several prominent Democrats and Democratic groups during controversies over alleged improprieties in fundraising and cooperation with 527 groups. He chaired the task force on reform of FARA for the International Trade Committee of the ABA's Section on International Law; has served on the Executive Committee of the Election Law Committee of the ABA's Administrative Law Section; and currently serves on the Advisory Board of that Committee. He has spoken on numerous panels on campaign finance law and

campaign finance reform Campaign finance reform may refer to: * Reform of campaign finance policies * Campaign finance reform in the United States Campaign finance laws in the United States have been a contentious political issue since the early days of the union. T ...

sponsored by bar associations, colleges and universities and advocacy organizations.

Publications

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002: Law and Explanation By Joseph E. Sandler and Neil P. Reiff (CCH, 2002). "Taking some lessons from the top: What in-house counsel can learn from those lost White House e-mails." By Joseph E. Sandler and William A. McComas. Published in Legal Times, June 18, 2007. "New Campaign Finance Rules and the 2004 Elections." By Joseph E. Sandler and Neil P. Reiff. Campaigns & Elections Magazine, February 2005. "The Campaign Finance Minefield." An analysis of the impact of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act on state and local party committees. By Joseph E. Sandler and Neil P. Reiff. Campaigns & Elections Magazine, May 2004. "What's Next for Free Speech: The Supreme Court upholds BCRA and throws open the door to new threats." An op-ed piece regarding the U.S. Supreme Court decision McConnell v. FEC. Joseph E. Sandler, Neil P. Reiff, and Larry S. Gibson. Published in Legal Times (December 15, 2003). "Are Campaign Finance Laws Ready for the Internet Bandwagon?" Joseph E. Sandler and Neil P. Reiff. Campaigns & Elections Magazine, July 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandler, Joseph Harvard Law School alumni American lawyers Living people 1953 births Harvard College alumni