Sandler Defense and Advocacy Attorney at Law · Colorado

Defense for people.
Advocacy against powerful institutions.

A Colorado law practice for people facing criminal charges, students with disabilities and their families, and communities protecting public lands, water, and wildlife.

Criminal Defense Special Education Environmental Advocacy
Illustration of the scales of justice beneath a dove with an olive branch and a crescent moon

Different fights, held together by one idea.

Whether it's a person facing the weight of the state, a family fighting to get a child the education a school district owes them, or a community facing an agency's decision, the job is the same: hold powerful institutions to their burden, test the record they're relying on, and give the other side of the case a voice that is prepared, precise, and hard to dismiss.

I keep my caseload deliberate. You work with me directly — not a rotating cast — from the first conversation to the last filing.

Classical courthouse columns
Criminal Defense

When the state is the one making the accusation.

Being charged is disorienting and high-stakes — whether it's a first misdemeanor or a serious felony. I handle Colorado criminal matters from investigation through trial and appeal: examining how the evidence was gathered, finding where the prosecution's case is weak, and pursuing the outcome that actually fits your life, not just the file.

  • DUI / DWAI
  • Drug offenses
  • Assault & domestic violence
  • Theft & property
  • Weapons charges
  • Serious felonies
  • Appeals
Wooden blocks spelling IEP and 504
Special Education

When a school isn't giving your child what the law requires.

Children with disabilities have a federal right to a free appropriate public education. When a district falls short — a denied evaluation, an IEP that exists on paper but not in the classroom, services quietly cut — I help parents and students hold the district to the IDEA and Section 504, at the meetings and through dispute resolution.

  • IEP development & disputes
  • Evaluations & eligibility
  • Section 504 plans
  • Denial of services (FAPE)
  • Discipline & manifestation
  • Due process hearings
Granite rock spires rising through mountain mist
Environmental Advocacy

When the land needs a seat at the table.

Public lands, water, wildlife, and the communities that depend on them don't always get a fair hearing. I represent conservation organizations, community groups, and individuals in environmental matters — building the administrative and legal record that makes a decision-maker stop and reconsider.

  • NEPA review
  • Endangered Species Act
  • Forest Service objections
  • Herbicide & spraying challenges
  • Land-use decisions
  • Public-comment advocacy
Matthew Sandler, Colorado attorney
Matthew Sandler Attorney at Law · Colorado Reg. #37921

About the firm

I'm a Colorado attorney with a practice built around advocacy: standing up for individuals inside the criminal system, for students with disabilities and their families in the schools, and for the public interest in environmental matters. The connective tissue is a belief that institutions — prosecutors, school districts, and agencies alike — should have to earn their outcomes.

I earned my law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2006 and began my career clerking for a Colorado district court judge. I spent years as a trial lawyer with the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, defending people against charges from misdemeanors to serious felonies — work I continue today through court-appointed cases with the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel and through representing private clients. I also served as legal director for Rocky Mountain Wild, a nonprofit protecting wildlife and wild lands across the Southern Rockies — experience that anchors my environmental advocacy.

My special education practice grew straight out of the courtroom. Representing juvenile clients, I kept seeing the same thing: kids whose struggles traced back to unmet educational needs the system had never addressed. I began stepping in to secure the services and accommodations the law already guaranteed them — and that work became a core part of my practice.

  • BarLicensed in Colorado · Reg. #37921
  • FocusCriminal defense, special education & environmental advocacy
  • AreaBoulder County and communities across Colorado

Every case starts with a conversation.

Tell me a little about what's going on and I'll get back to you about how — and whether — I can help.

Please keep it brief and don't share confidential details about your situation yet — a short summary is all I need to see if I'm the right fit and to check for conflicts. Submitting this form does not create an attorney-client relationship, and it isn't for emergencies or time-sensitive deadlines.

Prefer email? Reach me directly at matt@sandlerdefense.com.

Prefer to reach out directly?

Serving Boulder County and clients across Colorado. Consultations by appointment — in person or by phone/video.