James Sandman

James J. Sandman is an American lawyer and an academic. He serves as the Director of the Future of the Profession Lab, a Distinguished Lecturer, and Senior Consultant for the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Additionally, he holds the position of President Emeritus at the Legal Services Corporation.

Sandman is most known for his work to improve access to the American justice system for people who cannot afford lawyers. As President of the Legal Services Corporation, the United States’ largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income people, he advocated for the use of technology to provide access to legal information and increased bipartisan support for congressional funding of the Legal Services Corporation. He is also known for his work on professional responsibility, ethics, social justice, equity, and inclusion. He served at Arnold and Porter for 30 years and was the firm's Managing Partner for a decade (1995–2005). Moreover, he is the recipient of the District of Columbia Bar's Justice William J. Brennan Award and the 2016 Cornelius Alexander Humanitarian Award from the District of Columbia Commission on Human Rights

Sandman is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Education
Sandman completed his Bachelor of Arts in History at Boston College in 1973. Later in 1976, he earned a J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Career
From 1977 until 2007, he practiced law with Arnold & Porter LLP, where he undertook various roles, including associate, partner, and managing partner. From 2007 to 2011, he served as the General Counsel of the District of Columbia Public Schools. In 2011, he assumed the position of president at the Legal Services Corporation, where he served until 2020. He is the vice chairman at the District of Columbia Access to Justice Commission and at the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board. Since 2020, he has been the director of the Future of the Profession Lab, a distinguished lecturer, and a senior consultant to the Future of the Profession Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Research
Sandman has written on the challenges faced by women in the legal profession, the barriers low-income households face in obtaining representation in civil cases, and the importance of funding civil legal aid for low-income individuals in the United States.

Awards and honors

 * 2015 – Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Award, District of Columbia Bar
 * 2016 – Cornelius Alexander Humanitarian Award, District of Columbia Commission on Human Rights
 * 2017 – Louis Stokes Paragon Award, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
 * 2021 – Distinguished Life Fellow Award, Fellows of the American Bar Foundation
 * 2021 – Honorary Doctor of Laws Recipient, Albany Law School
 * 2022 – Access to Justice Award, Fayette County (Kentucky) Bar Association
 * 2022 – Lifetime Achievement Award, The American Lawyer
 * 2023 – Honorary Doctor of Laws Recipient, Wilkes University

Selected articles

 * Sandman, J. J. (2002). The Business Case for Effective Part-Time Programs. Women Law. J., 88, 16.
 * Sandman, J. J. (2005). The Character of Max Rosenn. U. Pa. L. Rev., 154, 1049.
 * Sandman, J. J. (2014). The Current State of Access to Justice in the United States. Geo. J. on Poverty L. & Pol'y, 22, 453.
 * Sandman, J. J. (2019). The role of the Legal Services Corporation in improving access to justice. Daedalus, 148(1), 113–119.
 * Sandman, J. J. (2021). Introduction: Meeting the Legal Needs of Disaster Survivors. The Urban Lawyer, 51(3), 457–458.