Sanford "Sandy" Michael Saunders Jr.

Trial lawyer Sanford (“Sandy”) M. Saunders, Jr. passed away peacefully in his sleep during the early morning hours of Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017 while visiting family in Florida. Saunders was 59. A resident of McLean, VA, and native of Brooklyn, NY, he is survived by his wife of nearly 22 years, Beth Saunders.

Saunders was passionate about his work representing clients in court. He spent the past 16 years of private legal practice in the Washington, D.C. office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP where he was a shareholder in the White Collar Defense & Special Investigations Practice Group. He had served as co-managing shareholder of the office from 2010 to 2016. For more than 30 years Saunders served tirelessly as an international trial and white collar criminal defense lawyer, representing corporations, business executives, and legislative and ministerial level public official in cases alleging fraud, money laundering, and corruption. Many of his cases involved historic elements, including the largest allegation of money laundering ever prosecuted at the time.

In addition to practicing law, Saunders served as a Visiting Fellow at the George Mason University Center on Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption. He was involved in several legal and community organizations, including serving as vice-chair for the advisory board of the Northern Virginia Republican Business Forum; as a member of the Jack Kemp Foundation Legacy Circle; and a board member for the Jerusalem Leaders Summit. Saunders received his J.D., cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 1983 and his B.A., with honors, from Johns Hopkins University in 1980.

Saunders was a champion for his family, friends and colleagues and loved by everyone in his life. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to one of Sandy's personal causes: jackkempfoundation.org, jerusalemleaderssummit.org, or the Sandy Saunders Memorial Fund at Johns Hopkins University by visiting krieger.jhu.edu/giving and designating your gift to the Saunders Memorial Fund. If you have questions about donating to the Memorial Fund at JHU, please call 410-516-8722.

A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. located at 1150 22nd Street, NW, Washington DC 20037. A reception will immediately follow the services