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Sandra C. Lechman
Associate
Sandra is an accomplished trial and appellate lawyer who focuses on criminal defense.
Overview
Sandra C. Lechman is an experienced criminal defense attorney. She specializes in complex negotiations and has a long track record of securing dismissals or highly favorable dispositions for her clients prior to trial. Sandra is a compassionate and fierce advocate. She has tried numerous felony and misdemeanor trials.
Sandra has represented clients charged with various types of criminal offenses including multi-million-dollar healthcare fraud conspiracies, other forms of fraud, arms dealing, cross-border smuggling offenses, and other offenses.
In litigating cases, Sandra aggressively files motions such as motions to dismiss for government misconduct, motions to dismiss for other types of violations, and suppression motions. In her sentencing practice, Sandra has great success in convincing judges to follow her sentencing recommendations over those of the government, often saving her clients from many years in prison. One District Court Judge referred to Sandra as “a very wise litigator who often secures great results for her clients.”
In addition to her trial work, Sandra has written several appeals and argued multiple times before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She has also worked on a capital murder case.
Outside of the courtroom, Sandra is heavily involved in the training of criminal defense lawyers. Sandra co-authored the “Motions” chapter in the volume Defending a Federal Criminal Case, 2014 Edition. She has created and presented lectures on litigation in cases of mental incompetency, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and the intersection of criminal and immigration law.
Prior to joining Bienert Katzman Littrell Williams LLP, Sandra was a private practitioner running her own criminal defense law firm. Before that, she was a trial lawyer at the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. She graduated from the University of Connecticut Law School earning her Juris Doctorate, along with a Graduate Certificate in Human Rights. She graduated with honors from McGill University, during which time she interned for then-Congressman Chris Murphy.
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