YOUNG LAWYER SHOWCASE
TY SKARDA DIANE L. SCHULL
Ty Skarda is the
Chief Assistant
State’s Attorney
for McKenzie
County and is
currently running
for McKenzie
County State’s
Attorney. He
joined the state’s attorney office in June,
where he is responsible for prosecuting a
wide variety of criminal cases and assists
in managing the county’s civil portfolio.
Previously, Skarda was the supervising
attorney at the Watford City Public
Defender’s Office. While at the public
defender’s office, he was responsible for
taking the bulk of McKenzie County’s
indigent defense cases and took felony
conflict cases throughout western North
Dakota. Diane L. Schull is an associate attorney at Brudvik Law
Office, P.C., in Grand Forks. She currently practices family
law, representing clients in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Schull has been part of the legal system since 1993.
She was formerly employed by the Grand Forks Police
Department, first as a 911 dispatcher and later becoming
the property and evidence coordinator. With training in
forensic photography, shooting reconstruction, bloodstain
pattern analysis, and crime scene reconstruction,
Schull was certified by the International Association of Investigation as a Certified
Senior Crime Scene Analyst in 2009. Schull was also a member of the International
Association for Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, a founding member of the North Dakota
Peace Officers Association Evidence Tech nician Committee, and past president of
the International Association for Identification Dakotas Division.
Skarda grew up farming and ranching with
his father and grandfather in rural McKenzie
County. After high school, he attended the
University of North Dakota (UND) where he
graduated summa cum laude with a degree
in public administration. He was also
named the Outstanding Graduate in Public
Administration in 2012. He then attended
the UND School of Law, graduating with a
juris doctor, cum laude, in 2015.
Additionally, Schull has worked in family law as a parenting investigator and a lay
guardian ad litem since 2008. She graduated from the University of North Dakota
School of Law, cum laude, in 2016. During her time in law school, Schull was selected
for an externship at the United States Attorney's Office in Fargo, N.D., and an
Immigration and Border Protection class in San Diego, Calif.
Schull is a lifelong resident of the Grand Forks area. She is a native of Thompson,
N.D., and a graduate of Grand Forks Central High School. She and her husband,
Wayne, have four children. They reside in Fisher, Minn., where Schull is a volunteer
emergency medical responder. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with
family and traveling.
While in law school, Skarda served as
president of the Federalist Society and vice
president of the Energy Law Association.
During his summers in law school, he
came back to Watford City to clerk for the
Johnson & Sundeen Law Office and the
McKenzie County State’s Attorney while
continuing to work on the family farm.
In his spare time, Skarda enjoys spending
time with his wife, Sarah, and their 10-
month-old twin boys, Jax and Miles. He
also enjoys hunting, fishing, skiing, and
being outdoors.
SUMMER 2018
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