About Rick
Rick Sand built his legal toolkit in classrooms and courtrooms across several states. He earned a B.S. from the University of Saint Thomas in 2007, completed studies in bioethics and health law at Hamline University School of Law in 2011, and received his J.D. from the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota School of Law in 2012. Those years of study prepared him for early work on public advocacy and criminal matters.
His first clerkship came in 2010 with the Arizona Justice Project. He returned to public advocacy work in Alaska in 2012, serving as a law clerk and then as a bar certified legal intern in the Office of Public Advocacy for the Alaska Department of Administration. Those roles gave him experience handling client files, researching case law and assisting in hearings. He opened Sand Law, PLLC in 2013 and has run the firm since then.
Sand is admitted to practice in North Dakota, Arizona and Minnesota, and he is also admitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. He maintains memberships in the American Bar Association, the Arizona Bar Association, the Maricopa County Bar Association, the North Dakota Bar Association and the North Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Those affiliations reflect a practice that spans state and federal matters and includes criminal defense within his professional activities.
Clients encounter a lawyer who has moved between public service roles and private practice. Early in his career he worked on behalf of indigent clients and on projects that paired law students and attorneys to address wrongful conviction and other criminal justice issues. Running his own firm required him to take on case intake, client counseling and court appearances. He has represented clients in multiple jurisdictions and filed matters in federal court in North Dakota.
Colleagues describe him as practical and direct. He prepares filings, argues motions and manages trial work when cases go that far. He also handles pretrial matters and plea negotiations. His path from law school clinics to public advocacy and private practice gives him a base of courtroom experience and client-facing work.
Sand Law, PLLC operates as his principal practice vehicle. He continues to represent clients in state and federal courts across the jurisdictions where he is admitted, including criminal defense and related matters.
