Matthew T. Sanderson

Mr. Sanderson helps corporations, political committees, public affairs firms, law firms, candidates, and advocacy groups comply with the complex federal, state, and local laws that govern political activity, including campaign finance, "pay-to-play," government ethics, and lobbying disclosure regulations. He advises clients on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and defends parties before the Department of Justice that face FARA-related inquiries. Mr. Sanderson also represents clients who face congressional investigations.

Mr. Sanderson has served as counsel to Senator John McCain, Senator Mitt Romney, Governor Jon Huntsman Jr., and many other candidates for national office. He was a legal consultant for Netflix’s hit series House of Cards and received the Peabody Award, alongside Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report team, for efforts related to the “Colbert Super PAC.” Mr. Sanderson was also a founder of PlayoffPAC, which was nominated for Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year award for its work in bringing down college football's prior post-season system, the Bowl Championship Series.

Mr. Sanderson is the co-editor of Thomson Reuters’ legal treatise on political law, a member of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Election Law, a co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Task Force on the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and an Adjunct Faculty Member at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he teaches an advanced course on the regulation of elections and political advocacy. He serves as editor of FARA.us, a comprehensive online resource of information about the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and is frequently quoted on political matters in national media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, POLITICO, and The Associated Press. Mr. Sanderson is an on-air Election Law Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He is also a Trustee for the American Council of Young Political Leaders, a nonprofit that connects rising political leaders in the U.S. and around the world.

Mr. Sanderson is a graduate of the University of Utah and Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a Chancellor's Scholar. He has four children with his wife, Emily.

Bar & Court Admissions

• District of Columbia
• District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Education

J.D., Vanderbilt Law School, 2008

B.A., The University of Utah, 2005, cum laude

Languages

Honors & Recognitions

• Chambers USA, 2014-Present
• American Bar Association International Law Section, Outstanding Project Award, FARA: Issues and Recommendations for Reform, 2021
• Super Lawyers, Rising Star, Washington, D.C., 2013-2020
• Alumni Association, The University of Utah Par Excellence Award, 2016
• Washingtonian, Top Lawyer, 2015, 2017, 2024
• The Washington Post, Among the Top Attorneys in D.C., 2014

Other Professional Affiliations

Member, American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Election Law 

Member, American Bar Association, Task Force on the Foreign Agents Registration Act