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Sandra C. Lechman is an experienced trial attorney who specializes in complex problem-solving in state and federal criminal and civil matters. She has a long track record of securing favorable results for her clients involving complex negotiations with opposing counsel and the government prior to, during, and after trial. Sandra is a compassionate and fierce advocate for her corporate and individual clients.
While at BKLW, Sandra has represented clients in multiple jurisdictions throughout the country. Among other things, she has run internal investigations, prepared briefs for class certification, represented whistleblowers in a qui tam matter accusing a government agency of Medicare and Medicaid overbilling, represented the CFO of a oil refinement business accused by the SEC of false filings and misrepresentations, drafted an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a wrongful incarceration Section 1983 case, and secured a sentence of home detention for a financial advisor accused of participating in a Ponzi scheme. She has also represented clients charged with campaign finance fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit $180 million wire fraud.
In litigating her criminal and civil cases, Sandra files outside-the-box motions including creative indictment challenges, motions to dismiss, motions to quash, motion to compel, and suppression motions. 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 involving government misconduct, jury instructions, sentencing issues, and jurisdictional challenges. In one emergency appeal, Sandra successfully persuaded the Court to vacate a district court order unlawfully holding her client in custody and secured his release.
Sandra has been recognized by Best Lawyers for her work in White Collar Criminal Defense. 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 BKLW, 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.