Wildfires have become one of the defining catastrophes of life in the American West — destroying homes, obliterating communities, killing and injuring thousands, and leaving survivors to navigate the overwhelming complexity of insurance claims, FEMA applications, and legal proceedings while still in shock.

The January 2024 San Diego floods were not simply a natural disaster. They were the foreseeable result of years of government neglect — a city that failed to maintain its stormwater infrastructure, ignored the warnings, and left its most vulnerable communities exposed when the rain came.

Consumer protection law exists for one fundamental purpose: to hold corporations accountable when they put profits ahead of the people they serve.

When a corporation defrauds thousands of customers, a manufacturer sells a defective product to millions of consumers, or an institution engages in systematic misconduct that harms an entire community, no single lawsuit tells the full story.

Through the United States Constitution, state constitutions, and federal and state laws, citizens of the United States are guaranteed civil rights that ensure their free participation in society. These include the right to free speech, the right to due process, the right to equal protection under the law, and protection from discrimination.

When an accident turns your life upside down, the decisions you make in the weeks that follow — including who represents you — can determine everything. Brett Schreiber is a nationally recognized California personal injury attorney and Founding Partner of Singleton Schreiber.