Matthew T. Sanderson

Associate, Washington D.C.
(202) 862-5046
msanderson@capdale.com | v-card | PDF

Matthew Sanderson is an associate in the Political Law practice group of Caplin & Drysdale.

Services

Mr. Sanderson helps corporations, political committees, candidates, and advocacy groups comply with the increasingly numerous and complex federal, state, and local laws that govern political activity and commercial interaction with public-sector clients. Specifically, he advises clients on campaign-finance, "pay-to-play", ethics, and lobbying rules.

Highlights

Mr. Sanderson served as outside counsel for Governor Rick Perry's 2012 presidential campaign, legal counsel to Governor Mitt Romney's Commonwealth PACs, Campaign Finance Counsel for Senator John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, and General Counsel for a government reform commission created by Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. He, along with the rest of The Colbert Report team, received the prestigious Peabody Award in 2012 for efforts related to television personality Stephen Colbert's Super PAC. Mr. Sanderson is also a founder of PlayoffPAC, which was nominated in 2011 for Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year award for its work in bringing down college football's unpopular former post-season system, the Bowl Championship Series. He is frequently quoted on political matters in national media outlets, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Associated Press.

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

Awards & Honors

Ranked as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine in 2013

Recent Media

Scott Brown's Daughter Paid $9,500 to Sing at Campaign Events, The Boston Globe (February 3, 2012)
A Rich Tradition, ESPN (December 15, 2011)
Matt Sanderson and PlayoffPAC Nominated for Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year, Sports Illustrated (November 18, 2011)
THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW: Matthew Sanderson, The Examiner (October 16, 2011)
Group Shapes Debate on College Football Championship, Despite Tiny Budget, Washington Post (August 17, 2011)
Campaign Work Led to Place at Law Firm, Washington Post (August 7, 2011
Politico "Trumpets" Trevor Potter and Matthew Sanderson on Their Representation of Stephen Colbert, Politico (July 5, 2011)
The Washingtonian Takes Note of Trevor Potter and Matthew Sanderson's Success in Obtaining FEC Approval for Colbert SuperPac, The Washingtonian (July 1, 2011)
PlayoffPAC Keeps Pressure on BCS, USA Today (June 8, 2011)
Political Heavy Hitters Take On College Bowls, The New York Times (January 10, 2011)
College Football Playoff Backer Files Tax Complaint Against Bowls, Bloomberg (September 23, 2010)
Clicking Candidate.com, Landing at Opponent.com, The New York Times (September 14, 2010)
Lock Down Yourname.com Domain If You Plan to Run for Office or It Could Cost You, The Hill (February 25, 2010)
Will Government Intervene in BCS Mess?, USA Today (January 6, 2010)
Fleischer vs. PAC in Bowl Brawl, Politico (January 5, 2010)

For a comprehensive list of Mr. Sanderson's media mentions, please visit here.

Recent Publications

Joint Fundraising Committees and Federal Campaigns (Forthcoming)
Political Activity, Lobbying Laws, and Gift Rules Guide, West Publishing 3rd Edition 2012-2013 (co-editor, with Trevor Potter) (2012)
Elections: Administrative Law Developments, American Bar Association (with Trevor Potter) (2010)
Two Birds, One Stone: Reversing "Frontloading" by Fixing the Presidential Public Funding System, Virginia Journal of Law and Politics (2010)
The Conservative Case for College Football Reform, The Hill (January 6, 2010)
Analysis of Bill Clinton's Cybersquatting Loss, Election Law Blog (June 4, 2009)
A Dot-Pol of Their Own, Washington Post (April 13, 2009)
Candidates, Squatters and Gripers: A Primer on Political Cybersquatting and A Proposal for Reform, Election Law Journal (2009)
Federal Campaign Finance Law: A Primer for the Lobbyist, ABA Lobbying Manual (with Trevor Potter, 2009)
Lobbyist Bundling of Campaign Contributions, ABA Lobbying Manual (with Trevor Potter, 2009)
From Intent to Outcome: Balloting and Tabulation Around the World, ABA International Election Law Principles (with Joseph Birkenstock, 2008)
Voodoo Economics: A Look Abroad for a Supply-Side Solution to America's Campaign Finance Riddle, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law (2008)