Andres Rico has been aggressively defending the rights of his criminal court clients for over 17 years. He joined the Los Angeles Public Defender's Office in 2006 where he moved up through the ranks from misdemeanors to juvenile delinquency to felonies. By 2010, he had finished his first felony jury trial. During the years that followed, Andres became a virtual expert in criminal law. He did his first homicide trial in 2013, where he successfully presented a not guilty by insanity defense thus sparing his client a life term in prison. That same year he repeated the feat when he obtained a manslaughter conviction for a client charged with attempted murder after he shot his neighbor several times. At both trials, Andres successfully presented complex defenses and the use of mental health expert witnesses. By the time he left the Public Defender's Office in 2021, Andres represented clients at close to 40 jury trials with charges that include DUI, weapons and drug possession, criminal street gang enhancements, sex offenses, assaultive crimes, shootings and vehicle code offenses. Aside from his trial experience, Andres handled thousands of cases where he negotiated favorable plea agreements for his clients that emphasize drug or mental health treatment over incarceration and he is familiar with the motion work required for any type of case.
Most recently, Andres gained valuable experience at a private defense firm specializing in DUIs. He represented dozens of clients at DMV hearings where he successfully convinced the hearing officers to set aside his clients' license suspensions. He also gained National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) certification in DUI Field Sobriety Testing. Having moved to the Bay Area from Los Angeles, Andres has now practiced in 8 counties and dozens of courthouses. There is literally no scenario that he has not confronted in a criminal court or in the defense of DUI.
Andres graduated from Pace Law School in New York in 2003. His professional experience also includes prosecutorial work at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and the State Bar of California. In his free time, Andres enjoys foreign travel exploring the great cities and the natural wonders of the world. He loves books and movies on strange and esoteric subjects. He's also pretty good at karaoke.
