HomeCaliforniaSan DiegoGerald Singleton

About Gerald Singleton

Gerald Singleton began his legal career as a trial attorney at Federal Defenders of San Diego in 2000, representing federal criminal defendants in the Southern District of California and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He left Federal Defenders in 2003 to start his own practice, which grew from a sole proprietorship into the national firm of Singleton Schreiber, with over 90 attorneys and 400 employees across more than a dozen offices. Over the past several years, Mr. Singleton has expanded the firm's practice to include representing public entities and individuals in environmental and toxic tort litigation across the country. In 2023, he and his team brought the first medical-monitoring claim to address carcinogens and other dangerous toxins in wildfire smoke.

In 2024, the firm partnered with the NAACP to bring litigation on behalf of thousands of women who developed cancer or uterine fibroids from exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in over-the-counter hair relaxer products. Mr. Singleton graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, where he earned high honors and the departmental prize in Government. He received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2000, and is licensed in the state courts of California, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Texas, Missouri, Ohio, Minnesota and the District of Columbia, multiple federal district courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyer in America and has been named to Lawdragon's 100 Managing Partners list two consecutive years.

Proven verdicts and settlements

$85 million verdict (settled $12 million)Verdict

A federal jury awarded $85 million against San Diego County after deputies tased, beat, and hogtied Lucky Phounsy during a 2015 mental health crisis; the county later settled for $12 million after the judge vacated the wrongful-death damages and ordered a new trial on that portion.

U.S. District Court, S.D. California (San Diego) · 2022Wrongful DeathRead the full story →
View all 3 proven verdicts →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

University of California, Berkeley School of Law
J.D., 2000
Dartmouth College
Undergraduate

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of California
State Bar of New Mexico
State Bar of Oregon
State Bar of Washington
State Bar of Texas
State Bar of Missouri
State Bar of Ohio
State Bar of Minnesota
State Bar of District of Columbia

Other attorneys at Singleton Schreiber

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$13.5 billion · PG&E Wildfire Bankruptcy: $13.5 Billion Settlement for Northern California Fire Victims
Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire
Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire
$94.5 million · San Diego Developer Wins $94.5 Million Jury Verdict Over City's Broken Promises at Otay Mesa