LSC president steps down after 9 years

WASHINGTON – After more than nine years as president of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), James J. Sandman announced Tuesday that he will be stepping down from his position. He is the organization’s longest-serving president, and during his transformational tenure LSC improved the delivery of legal services to low-income Americans through innovations in pro bono and technology and new and better uses of data. His public advocacy for LSC and its mission and his push for increased outreach to Congress helped expand and strengthen bipartisan support for LSC on Capitol Hill and raised awareness of the organization across the country. Under Sandman’s tenure, the annual congressional appropriation to LSC was increased to $440 million — the largest appropriation in LSC’s history.

Sandman’s departure will be effective February 19. The Board intends to appoint Ronald S. Flagg, LSC’s current vice president for Legal Affairs, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary, as interim president. Flagg was previously partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin LLP for more than twenty-five years. For more than a decade, he chaired the firm’s Committee on Pro Bono and Public Interest Law. Flagg served as President of the District of Columbia Bar in 2010-2011 and currently serves as Chair of the Bar’s Pro Bono Task Force. He presently is also Board Chair of the National Veterans Legal Services Program.

LSC will put together a Search Committee made up of LSC Board Members and external stakeholders. The committee will identify a firm to conduct a national search for the next LSC President.
Sandman will become president emeritus of the Legal Services Corporation and continue to advocate for access to justice for all Americans.