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Sarah Gad

Sarah Gad

  • Criminal Law, Appeals & Appellate, Immigration Law
  • Minnesota
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Claimed Lawyer ProfileQ&A
Biography

Sarah Gad is a founding partner of Gad & Gad Law Offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which specializes in criminal defense, wrongful convictions, and immigration advocacy. Sarah is known nationally for her commitment to fighting for justice — and seeing justice prevail in courtrooms across the country.

Before relocating to her home state of Minnesota, Sarah worked for celebrity attorney Kathleen Zellner in Chicago. She played a pivotal role in several high-profile cases, including Mario Casciaro's exoneration and Steven Avery's appeal from the Netflix series Making a Murderer. In 2019. Sarah also represented Lil Durk's brother in a drug-related matter and single handedly got the entire case dismissed on 4th Amendment grounds. In 2019, Sarah received the University of Chicago Humanitarian Award for her work as a law student in uncovering dozens of fake stash houses that exonerated 13 men in Chicago's South Side of Chicago.

That' not all: after being injured in a car crash in 2011, Sarah herself became addicted to the pain medication that she was prescribed. After being criminalized for her addiction, thrown in jail for it, and stigmatized with a "criminal" record, she decided she had no choice but to fight back. She attended the University of Chicago Law School—one of the top law schools int he country—and she now fights for her clients in the exact same courtrooms that she was handcuffed and shackled in years ago—and most importantly, she often prevails.

Education
University of Chicago
J.D. (2020) | Doctor of Law
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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
B.S. (2009) | Chemistry, Microbiology
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Honors: Summa Cum Laude Highest Distinction
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Professional Experience
Founding Partner
Gad & Gad Law Offices LLP
- Current
Assistant Attorney
KNN Law Offices
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Forensics Director; Associate
Law Offices of Kathleen T. Zellner & Associates
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Speaking Engagements
First, Do No Harm? Opioids as an Iatrongenic Epidemic, Tulane Medicine Grand Rounds, New Orleans, LA
Tulane University Medical Center
Countering the Global Narcotics Epidemic: The U.S. Counternacotics Strategy, Caucus on International Narcotics Control, Washington, DC
Prisoners Eligibility for Pell Grants, Congressional Black Caucus Briefing, Washington, DC
Prisoners Are Patients: The Unconstitutionality of Criminalizing the Disease of Addiction, Medical Grand Rounds
Virginia Hospital System
Keynote Speaker, National Muslim Law Students Association, Chicago, IL
National Criminal Justice Commission Act, Senate Judiciary Committee, Washington, DC
Certifications
Top Ten Under 40 Defense Attorney
National Academy of Defense Lawyers
Criminal Law Specialist
Minnesota Society for Criminal Justice
Awards
University of Chicago Humanitarian Award
University of Chicago Law School
Recipient of the 2019 University of Chicago Humanitarian Award for pro bono legal work.
Professional Associations
State Bar of Minnesota  # 0403328
Member
Current
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Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
Minnesota
Minnesota Supreme Court
ID Number: 0403328
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Fees
  • Free Consultation
    All consultations for potential clients are free of charge.
  • Credit Cards Accepted
    We accept all major credit cards, including Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. We also accept Apple Pay.
  • Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
    Our firm has a fixed fee for different types of services. We also offer an a sliding scale payment system for low-income clients.
Practice Areas
Criminal Law
Criminal Appeals, Drug Crimes, Fraud, Gun Crimes, Sex Crimes, Theft, Violent Crimes
Appeals & Appellate
Civil Appeals, Federal Appeals
Immigration Law
Asylum, Citizenship, Deportation Defense, Family Visas, Green Cards, Immigration Appeals, Investment Visas, Marriage & Fiancé(e) Visas, Student Visas, Visitor Visas, Work Visas
Languages
  • Arabic: Spoken, Written
  • English: Spoken, Written
Legal Answers
Q. Can they have me testify against my girlfriend in a criminal case if we get married after they charge her?
A: The short answer is that yes, a couple can marry for the purpose of gaining access to the marital privilege in court actions, even if the charges are pending when the marriage happens. But, Marital privilege for evidentiary purposes is actually two separate privileges:

The first is the privilege not to testify against a current spouse in a legal proceeding. You must assert this privilege in order for it to apply.

The second is the privilege not to testify regarding confidential communications made to a spouse while the couple was married. Both have exceptions (e.g. for crimes in which one of the spouses is the victim or where the parties are suing each other). However, a confidential communication that occurred prior to marriage is not protected by the confidential communications marital privilege even after the couple married. Only the testimonial privilege would be available with regard to those communications, and the testimonial privilege often has more exceptions than the confidential communications privilege.

Given the number of exceptions to the marital privilege doctrine, I would highly recommend consulting with an experienced defense attorney about this.
... Read More
Q. Can they charge me separately give me two different charges for the same pull over stop or should they be together.
A: It sounds like you were pulled over on suspicion of a DUI and the police officer searched the car and allegedly discovered a controlled substance in the vehicle. It is pretty atypical for someone to be charged separately for alleged offenses arising from the same incident, but it is permissible and not unheard of. I'm assuming that you were charged with the DUI immediately, were represented by a public defender, and resolved that case and then you got hit with the 5th Degree Possession charge a year later when you were least expecting it.

An unfortunate flaw in our legal system is that it does not really care about the hardships it inflicts on the lives of defendants. If you do not feel like you are being adequately represented by your public defender, you should call around and see if there is a defense attorney in your county who will agree to an affordable payment plan. If this second case is just the one 5th Degree charge and you don't have a significant criminal history, it should be a pretty simple case to resolve.

I hope this helps. Best of luck to you.
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Q. Can I carry a gun while picking up my daughter?
A: You can carry your firearm in your vehicle as long as it is unloaded and in the closed trunk of your vehicle. If you want immediate access to the firearm, you need a permit to carry. The law does not regard self-defense as an excuse to not not have a permit to carry.

You can apply for a permit to carry here: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/bca/bca-divisions/administrative/Pages/firearms-permit-to-carry.aspx

Hope this helps!
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Websites & Blogs
Website
Gad & Gad Law Offices
Contact & Map
Gad & Gad Law
916 N Emerson
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Telephone: (612) 512-1870