Nico Ratkowski, Founding Partner.

Nico Ratkowski was first exposed to immigration law in 2016 when he started working as a law clerk at Contreras Edin Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. Learning quickly, Nico hit the ground running when he became a licensed attorney in January 2019. Since that time, Nico has practiced immigration law full time, cutting his teeth in the trenches during the Trump administration and learning how to best protect his clients from governmental overreach and destructive policies that sought to discourage immigration by separating families, incarcerating immigrants for seemingly no reason, and intentionally sowing confusion amongst immigrants and their attorneys. Undeterred, Nico forged ahead and taught himself how to litigate unconstitutional policies and practices in federal court because he saw that federal courts were the last bastion between the Constitution and Executive tyranny. Along the way, Nico picked up a variety of skills in all facets of immigration, becoming adept at removal defense, obtaining immigration bonds and challenging bond denials through reconsideration requests, filing family- and employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications and petitions, hardship petitions, waiver petitions, humanitarian requests, and otherwise navigating the immigration labyrinth.

In the course of his practice, Nico Ratkowski gained experience in criminal matters, first assisting other attorneys with tricky criminal sexual conduct cases before moving into other areas such as guns, drugs, sex trafficking, conspiracy, and murder. Nico provided free representation to protesters who were arrested in St. Paul and Minneapolis during the 2020 George Floyd protests and was successful in getting all charges dropped in each case. Nico has continued to expand his areas of criminal practice and is more than capable of handling any type of criminal matter that arises.

Nico Ratkowski has handled a variety of habeas corpus and postconviction cases since 2019 at both the federal and state levels, and he has successfully assisted multiple individuals in obtaining pardons from the Minnesota Board of Pardons for felony and misdemeanor offenses.

Nico’s criminal and postconviction work helps inform his approach to civil rights and personal injury cases, as he is regularly exposed to criminal matters from every angle. This experience has been invaluable, as it has allowed Nico to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars in settlements for his clients from government agencies and private individuals.

Due to Nico Ratkowski’s unique blend of experiences and expertise, he is regularly consulted by other criminal and immigration attorneys to provide expert legal advice about the immigration consequences of various state and federal criminal charges, proposed plea deals, convictions, and sentences.

Nico Ratkowski also has experience forming business entities, drafting corporate and nonprofit governance documents, drafting and advising businesses on residential lease agreements, purchase agreements, licensing agreements, and tax matters. Additionally, Nico regularly obtains third-party and single-parent custody petitions for clients in state family court.

Nico is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. Nico also holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Washington State University. During law school, Nico worked in the Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic, helping low-income clients resolve their tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Minnesota Department of Revenue (MNDOR). Nico also served as a staff member for the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science and Technology. Nico was a Human Rights Center Fellow who worked with “Phillips Black” in Saint Louis, MO to help research the effects of race on death penalty sentencing.

Admitted in:

Minnesota Supreme Court

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Tax Court

Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)

Memberships & Professional Associations:

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)

Publications:

Co-author of Immigration Practice Deskbook (2020 ed.), Chapter 7: Cancellation of Removal

Presentations & Speaking Engagements:

2025 AILA Fall Conference and Webcast: Asylum Across Borders: Legal Updates and Jurisdictional Pitfalls (Sept. 11, 2025)

Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA): Unlocking Immigration Records: FOIA Strategies & Identifying Immigration Issues in Your Practice (Apr. 14, 2025)

Washington County Law Library: Immigration Pardons (March 26, 2025)

Dakota County Law Library: Immigration Pardons (Jan. 16, 2025)

2024 AILA National Conference: Advanced T Visa Issues (June 15, 2024)

Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA): Tips for Submitting A Successful Pardon Application (May 1, 2024)

2024 AILA Midwinter Conference and Webcast: Humanitarian Relief (Jan. 18, 2024)

2023 Upper Midwest Immigration Law Conference: Challenges and Strategies in Inadmissibility Waivers (May 19, 2023)

2022 Upper Midwest Immigration Law Conference: Celebrity Immigration: Os, Ps, & EBs (May 20, 2022)

U Visas: Advanced & Emerging Issues CLE (sponsored by ASISTA): Session 5: APA Claims in Federal Court (May 6, 2021)

MN/Dakotas AILA Chapter CLE: Pardons in Minnesota and How it Impacts Immigrants (April 13, 2021)

Minnesota CLE: Special Forms of Temporary Relief (Mar. 18, 2021)

Service:

Hmong 18 Council - Board of Advisors (July 18, 2025 - Present)

AILA National – 2025 Fall Conference, Removal Defense Track (June 1, 2025 - Present)

AILA National – Amicus Committee (June 1, 2024 -May 31, 2025)

AILA National – VAWA, Us, and Ts Committee (June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024)

AILA National – 2024 National Conference Committee, Removal Defense Track (June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024)

MN/Dakotas AILA Chapter – Federal Court Litigation Committee (July 27, 2021 – July 27, 2022)

MN/Dakotas AILA Chapter – Annual Conference Planning Committee (July 27, 2021 – July 27, 2022)

Federal Bar Association – New Lawyers Committee (Oct. 5, 2020 – Sept. 30, 2021)

Federal Bar Association – Newsletter Awards Committee (Oct. 5, 2020 – Sept. 30, 2021)

Federal Bar Association – Young Lawyers Division StepUp Pro Bono Challenge (2020 – 2021)

Federal Bar Association – Immigration Law Section Law Student Committee (Oct. 15, 2019 – Sept. 30, 2020)

Minnesota State Bar Association – North Star Pro Bono Lawyer (2019)

Recognitions:

Super Lawyers - 2025 Minnesota Rising Stars

Super Lawyers - 2024 Minnesota Rising Stars

Super Lawyers - 2023 Minnesota Rising Stars