About Douglas
Douglas Sanderson has practiced law in Virginia for more than five decades. He built a career that traces back to the 1970s. He went to Trinity College, where he earned a B.A. in economics in 1970, and then took his law degree from The George Washington University Law School in 1974. Those credentials set the stage for a long presence in private practice.
Early in his career Sanderson joined a firm that would evolve into Bettius & Sanderson, P.C. He arrived there as an associate and rose to principal and partner by 1977. That early experience anchored his understanding of firm practice. In the 1980s he moved to a principal role at Miles & Stockbridge, P.C., a post recorded in 1986. He later is listed as a principal at McCandlish & Lillard, P.C. in 1995. Those shifts reflect a practice carried out across several established Virginia firms rather than a single institutional home.
Sanderson’s trajectory is steady rather than flashy. He continued to hold leadership roles in private firms over many years. The record shows long-term relationships with colleagues and a pattern of taking on principal responsibilities. He worked through firm reorganizations and name changes, and his resume records movement between multiple firms while remaining centered in Virginia practice.
Colleagues who worked alongside him have described a lawyer comfortable in the routines of litigation and client work. His background in economics, followed by a Washington, D.C., law degree, gave him both analytical training and exposure to a major legal market early on. He has sustained a practice in northern Virginia for decades and has maintained offices in both Fairfax and Loudoun counties, positioning himself near clients across the region.
In recent years Sanderson has remained active in private practice. He continues to represent clients and to advise on legal matters from his northern Virginia offices. His current practice focuses on advising and representing clients in Virginia from his Fairfax and Loudoun offices.
