Craig Singer is a trial and appellate litigator with a national reputation for representing law firms, professionals, and other companies and individuals in high-stakes matters.
For more than 25 years, Craig has represented numerous lawyers and law firms, including some of the nation’s largest firms, in federal and state courts, government investigations, and arbitration proceedings in many jurisdictions around the country. Craig is co-chair of Williams & Connolly’s Law Firm Defense Practice Group. Chambers USA recognized Craig among the top lawyers nationwide in Law Firm Defense, noting he “is considered a leading choice by top law firms and lawyers facing significant malpractice claims, as well as defending regulatory investigations and enforcement.”
In October and November 2018, Craig was lead defense counsel in a jury trial for an Am Law 100 law firm sued by a large multinational corporation. A Chicago jury returned a complete defense verdict in favor of W&C’s client. Craig is a seasoned trial lawyer in matters outside the legal malpractice arena as well. His recent jury trial defense of a bank in a large consumer class action earned a Trailblazer award from The National Law Journal in September 2023.
Craig has particular experience defending professionals and firms in matters arising from Ponzi schemes and other frauds. He is the author of a book on that subject, Professionals, Firms, and Fraud: Defending Professionals Against Liability for Client Fraud, which was published by the ABA.
Craig was elected by the D.C. Bar Board of Governors to serve as a member of the D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Committee, which issues formal opinions on questions arising under the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. Craig is also a member of the TriBar Opinion Committee, which prepares influential reports on legal opinion practice, and a member of the board of the Working Group on Legal Opinions, which provides a national forum for the discussion of important issues relating to closing opinions.
Craig has played a significant role in developing and litigating defenses to claims commonly brought against lawyers and law firms, including defenses based on in pari delicto, elements of aiding and abetting claims, attorney-client duties, proximate causation and damages.
Outside of his representation of law firms and lawyers, Craig has represented large companies in the health care, banking and defense contracting industries in defending against high stakes litigation and investigations, including under the federal False Claims Act and state law consumer protection and false-claims statutes.
In his criminal defense practice, Craig has also represented individuals and entities in criminal cases or investigations relating to various alleged offenses including mail and wire fraud, RICO, antitrust, environmental crimes and securities fraud.
Craig has extensive experience in federal criminal procedure, and is co-author of a treatise, Federal Criminal Discovery, published by the ABA. As described by the ABA, Federal Criminal Discovery “serves as an invaluable resource for judges, academics, prosecutors, and defense lawyers by providing an exhaustive discussion on the statutory and constitutional bases for discovery, and by covering the existing law fairly while examining both sides of the issues.”
In his appellate practice, Craig has handled appeals for clients in significant civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts nationwide. He has represented clients in virtually every federal Circuit and in multiple state appeals courts. He is a former U.S. Supreme Court clerk and a member of the Supreme Court Bar.
Born in Washington, D.C., Craig grew up in suburban Philadelphia. He earned his B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1990, taking off one semester to teach pre-school in Stamford, Connecticut. Craig earned his J.D., with Highest Honors, from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was Articles Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review. After law school, Craig clerked for Chief Judge Abner J. Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Associate Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court. He joined Williams & Connolly in 1996.
Representative ExperienceThough all cases vary and none is predictive, Craig’s experience includes:
- Lead counsel for an Am Law 100 law firm in a legal malpractice case that was tried to a jury in Chicago in October-November 2018. The plaintiff, a multinational appliance manufacturer, had alleged over $30 million in damages, which were reduced by two-thirds through motion practice. After a two-week trial, the jury returned a unanimous defense verdict.
- Counsel for a large law firm in federal multidistrict litigation arising from bankruptcy of the firm’s client, a broker-dealer firm, amid allegations of fraud. Craig represented the client in coordinated proceedings in the Southern District of New York and in multiple associated appeals. He asserted defenses on behalf of the client based on in pari delicto, elements of aiding and abetting claims, attorney-client duties, and proximate causation.
- Counsel for a large pharmacy corporation in False Claims Act litigation arising from charitable contributions in New Jersey, which plaintiff alleged violated federal anti-kickback laws. Craig was the principal author of the prevailing summary judgment papers and briefed and argued the appeal, which affirmed summary judgment in favor of W&C’s client.
- Counsel for a large law firm in parallel federal and state legal malpractice lawsuits arising from a corporate investigation the firm conducted. This matter spanned multiple lawsuits in trial court, and an appeal in the Pennsylvania state courts. Craig asserted defenses on behalf of the client based on attorney-client privity, “deepening insolvency” damages, in pari delicto and proximate causation.
- Principal brief writer on the team that defended the late U.S. Senator Ted Stevens against federal criminal charges in the District of Columbia. Craig developed and argued many of the legal theories in that landmark case, which resulted in the government’s dismissal of all charges after disclosure of prosecutorial misconduct.
Recognitions"Law Firm Defense (Nationwide)," Chambers USA, 2024 "Class Action/Mass Tort Litigation Trailblazer," The National Law Journal, 2023 |
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