Jeffrey Singer concentrates his practice in complex litigation. Although he handles almost all aspects of civil litigation, he frequently is called upon to serve as national and local counsel for an array of product liability and other complex bet-the-company cases.
A courtroom lawyer, Jeff has tried more than 65 jury trials in Chicago and other federal and state courtrooms throughout the United States.
Clients rely on Jeff to litigate a wide array of complex cases. He received national attention for his successful prosecution as lead trial counsel for the antitrust case JamSports, LLC v. Clear Channel Communications, gaining a $90 million verdict for the firm’s client and setting the highest punitive damages award in the history of the Seventh Circuit.
Jeff also was recognized for his successful representation of a mentally disabled young woman who suffered catastrophic permanent injuries arising from the failure of Chicago Police Department personnel to assure she received psychiatric care before her custodial release into a high-crime Chicago neighborhood, which ultimately led to her abduction, sexual assault and fall from a high-rise housing project apartment window. The City of Chicago agreed to pay $22.5 million in settlement days before trial was set to begin, the largest payment in Chicago history arising out of police misconduct in an individual case.
Jeff’s courtroom successes in the defense of product liability matters are heralded, but the keystone of his practice has long been in serving as national counsel for manufacturers navigating pattern litigation. Those companies – faced with extinction from liability claims – rely on him to evaluate the risks of litigation, develop defense strategies to effectively mitigate those risks and resolve cases when warranted. He has litigated complex matters in more than 35 federal and state jurisdictions.
He regularly serves as settlement counsel for companies faced with highly complex individual cases and pattern litigation where runaway costs and liability exposure are a serious risk. His reputation and experience as a trial lawyer often result in opposing counsel viewing his assessments of a given case as credible and worthy of close consideration.
Jeff is a founding member of Segal McCambridge and served on its management committee for more than 30 years, including service as the firm’s co-chair for 10 years. During that tenure, he guided the firm’s success and growth, expanding from a law firm with only its four founders in Chicago to a national firm with offices in nine cities.
Public service is an important aspect of Jeff’s professional and personal life. This includes serving as board chair for an award-winning independent nonprofit journalism organization, serving as an advisory board member for a legal clinic charged with seeking exoneration of persons wrongfully convicted of heinous crimes and serving as a board trustee and executive committee member of a highly recognized organization promoting fellowships for young international leaders.
Honors
- Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019
- Selected to Illinois Leading Lawyer, 2012 – present
- Selected to Illinois Super Lawyers, 2005 – present
- Top 10 Product Liability Defense Attorneys in Illinois, 2014
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated
- Lawyers Weekly Top Ten Trial Verdicts, 2006
- National Law Journal Top 100 Jury Trial Verdicts, 2005
- International Who’s Who of Life Sciences Lawyers, 2019
- International Who’s Who of Product Liability Defense Lawyers
- Who’s Who Legal: Life Sciences, 2019
- Who’s Who Legal, 2016
- Who’s Who American Law
- Who’s Who in North America
- Who’s Who in Finance and Business
- MEDMARC “Defense Attorney of the Year”
- Speaker, Local and National Attorney Seminars
Professional & Civic Involvement
- President of the Board, Injustice Watch
- Executive Committee and Board of Trustees Member, Eisenhower Fellowships
- Advisory Board Member, Center on Wrongful Convictions
- President’s Council, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
- Member, Economic Club of Chicago
- Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine
- Member, Chicago Council on Litigation Management
- Japan America Society of Chicago
- Sustaining Member, Product Liability Advisory Council
- Adjunct Professor, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Trial Advocacy and Civil Discovery
- Omicron Delta Kappa National Service Fraternity
- Directors Circle, Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Practice Highlights
Representative Matters
- Co-Chair, Segal McCambridge, 2005 – 2015.
- As lead counsel, obtained a $22.5 million settlement with the City of Chicago, the largest settlement for a single plaintiff in the city’s history, in a complex civil rights case seeking damages for a young woman who suffered permanent catastrophic injuries after the Chicago Police Department failed to provide access to mental health care while she was in police custody.
- Successfully obtained a bar of class certification in a federal trademark case involving internet commerce.
- Obtained a $90 million jury verdict in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of the plaintiff in a complex case involving tortious interference with contract and antitrust issues.
- Past and current national counsel retentions involving pain pump litigation, human cadaver tissue litigation, latex glove allergy litigation, intra-uterine pressure catheter litigation, diet drug litigation and diesel fuel litigation.
News & Events
Publications
Speaking Engagements
- “7th Annual Symposium with the Judges,” Law Bulletin Publishing Company, 2016
- “Does Your Corporate Counsel Relationship Need Counseling?”, Drug & Device Defense Forum, 2015
- “Potential Liability of the Device Company Due to Sales Reps in the OR,” Chubb Life Sciences Adjusters Meeting, 2014
- “Defending the Product Manufacturer as a Safe Company,” Product Liability Advisory Council Fall Conference, 2014
- “Annual Judges Symposium: Examining How We Can Improve the Litigation Process in Illinois,” Law Bulletin Seminars, 2012
- “Class Actions: New Risks and New Defenses,” National Complex Litigation Conference: A Symposium on Current & Emerging Issues, 2012
- “Case Evaluation,” Law Bulletin Seminars, 2011
Publications
- “Federal Agency Records: Restricting Their Discovery and Use in Product Liability Litigation,” Strictly Speaking, Defense Research Institute, 2006
- “FOIA Disclosures: Restricting Their Discovery and Use by Opposing Counsel,” co-author, Toxic Tort Newsletter, Segal McCambridge, 2005
- “Parties to Product Liability Cases,” Handbook of Product Liability Practice, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 2003
- “Declaratory Relief,” Illinois Civil Practice, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 2003
- “Recent Developments in Products, General Liability and Consumer Law,” 35 Tort & Insurance Law Journal 553, 2000
- “Parties to Product Liability Cases,” Handbook of Product Liability Practice, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1999
- “Defeating the Plaintiffs Automotive Products Case,” Daubert Revisited, Defense Research Institute, 1998
- “Declaratory Relief,” Illinois Civil Practice, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1997
- “Parties to Product Liability Cases,” Handbook of Product Liability Practice, Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 1996
- “Preemption of State Law Product Liability Claims by Medical Device Amendments of 1976,” Product Safety and Liability Reporter, 1995
- “Attacking Accident Reconstruction Testimony,” For The Defense, 1992