Elizabeth B Sandza

Elizabeth Sandza counsels boards of directors of for-profit and non-profit corporations. A former Delaware Deputy Attorney General, she also has extensive experience representing corporate clients in government investigations and in complex business litigation. Betsy has defended her clients in class actions, fraud and RICO cases, antitrust matters and injunctive actions, as well as in high-value disputes with their business partners. She appears regularly in state and federal trial courts and before federal multidistrict panels and international arbitral tribunals, as well as in bankruptcy, liquidation and appellate courts. She chairs Wilson Elser’s Commercial Litigation practice and is co-chair of the firm’s Class Action practice.

Betsy is appreciated for her calm and practical approach to clients' problems, and even their alleged wrongdoing. With a career’s worth of experience defending clients against a wide variety of serious charges under the most complicated circumstances, she has the ability to see the big picture and learn the details, while allowing her clients to focus on their business.

International Involvement
Betsy is corporate secretary and general counsel to the board of directors of the Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund, a $100 million equity fund created by the U.S. government that invests in small and medium-sized companies in eleven Sub-Saharan countries. In addition, she serves on the Advisory Board of the South Africa Washington Internship Program. 

Areas of Focus

International Involvement
Betsy is corporate secretary and general counsel to the board of directors of the Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund, a $100 million equity fund created by the U.S. government that invests in small and medium-sized companies in eleven Sub-Saharan countries. In addition, she serves on the Advisory Board of the South Africa Washington Internship Program.

Internal Investigations
Betsy has assisted clients in designing and implementing compliance and governance programs, conducting internal investigations and preparing comprehensive defense strategies in response to investigations by government regulators, state and federal prosecutors, and civil litigants.

International Business
Betsy has tried international arbitrations before the London Court of International Arbitration, the American Arbitration Association, and an arbitration panel of the National Construction Council of Tanzania, and she is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She counsels U.S. corporations regarding exposure under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, regulations of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and international banking anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering regulations. She also has served as counsel to U.S. advocates for foreign governments under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). In addition, Betsy advises U.S. companies doing business in Africa on U.S. regulations applicable to foreign trade and transacting business abroad.

Insurance-Reinsurance
For 20 years, Betsy has represented excess insurers in bad faith and major complex insurance coverage cases involving liabilities for mass product failures, toxic torts, environmental cleanup and asbestos injuries. In addition, she has represented reinsurers and cedents in reinsurance arbitrations before industry tribunals. Betsy frequently counsels insurance companies on market conduct and regulatory compliance, and she has defended insurance companies in investigations by state insurance regulators and attorneys general. She was commissioned to write the current insurance code for the country of Uganda.