Karlie Ruder is an Associate Attorney on Singleton Schreiber’s Personal Injury team, where she is dedicated to advocating for individuals and families and is committed to ensuring justice for her clients. With a diverse legal background, she brings valuable experience to her role, having worked on personal injury, consumer protection, and criminal law cases during her legal career. Karlie earned her J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law in 2024. While in law school, she worked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, focusing on personal injury cases; the University of San Diego Civil Clinic, where she contributed to consumer protection efforts; and the Saline County Attorney’s Office in Kansas, where she gained experience in criminal law. Before law school, Karlie earned her bachelor’s degree and developed her skills in public speaking, research, and critical analysis, preparing her for the complexities of legal practice. Outside of her legal work, Karlie enjoys playing the violin, singing, and exploring her creative side through drawing and painting. She also loves spending time outdoors paddleboarding, reading, or enjoying the natural beauty of San Diego. Karlie lives with her husband, Jacob, and their two cats, Alice and Benny.

Ben Koh began his legal career at Singleton Schreiber as a law clerk in 2022. He now serves as a trial attorney within the firm’s Personal Injury and Wrongful Death practice group. Ben represents plaintiffs in a variety of civil matters in California state and federal courts, including product liability, medical malpractice, and other catastrophic injury cases. He has held major retailers accountable for selling dangerous products, predatory caretakers for exploiting vulnerable individuals, and government actors for civil rights violations and negligence. As a litigator, he is driven by principles of discipline, persistence, and empathy, which has resulted in millions of dollars recovered for his clients. Mentorship and community led Ben to where he is today. He pays it forward by serving as a mentor to dozens of law students and new attorneys. He also holds leadership positions with the Korean American Bar Association of San Diego and the Pan Asian Lawyers of San Diego, both of which have awarded him for his dedicated service. While attending law school at the University of San Diego, Ben proudly served as President of the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association. He also interned with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and volunteered at a Los Angeles-based reentry advocacy center, helping provide legal assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals. Ben has called San Diego home for nearly a decade. He is a connoisseur of Korean BBQ, karaoke rooms, and live music events. In his free time, you can find him DJing, snowboarding, or spoiling his standard poodle, Ephraim.

Justin Knowles is an Associate Attorney at Singleton Schreiber, where he supports clients across the firm’s Fire Litigation, Personal Injury, and Mass Torts practice areas. With a deep commitment to client advocacy and a diverse professional background, Justin brings a practical and compassionate approach to resolving complex legal challenges on behalf of individuals, families, and small businesses. Before joining Singleton Schreiber, Justin volunteered as a legal intern with the California EPA - Department of Toxic Substances Control, where he worked on public health, regulatory, and environmental law issues. He also participated in a clinical externship program working with a civil law firm representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Additionally, Justin worked as a law clerk with a wildfire litigation firm. He was also a legal intern with American Rivers, where he worked on federal hydropower regulation and environmental justice initiatives with a focus on clean energy and public-interest policy. Justin earned his J.D. from California Western School of Law, where he served as the Vice President of the Environmental Law Society, a Board Member of the Student Bar Association, and was admitted into the Pro Bono Honors Society. He holds a B.S. in Geography from the University of Oregon, where he also captained the Ducks Men’s Lacrosse team. Before law school, Justin built a well-rounded career in nonprofit management, real estate law, and urban regenerative agricultural. His prior professional experience continues to shape his communication style, strategic thinking, and dedication to community-centered legal work. Justin is admitted to practice law in California and is a member of the San Diego County Bar Association, Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, California Lawyers Association, and American Bar Association. Outside the office, Justin enjoys surfing, yoga, hiking, and cooking with his family.

Liam Barrett serves as an Associate Attorney in the Civil Rights practice group at Singleton Schreiber, where he is dedicated to advocating for individuals whose voices are too often unheard. With a strong foundation in public interest law, Liam has represented clients across a range of practice areas, forums, and jurisdictions, focusing on advancing justice and protecting constitutional rights. Before joining Singleton Schreiber, Liam practiced family and immigration law at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., and later represented tenants in eviction cases with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego. He also gained valuable experience through two clerkships in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Liam earned his law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he developed his passion for civil rights work as a member of the Civil Rights Clinic, representing clients in federal courts across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. He received his bachelor's degree in political science–American politics, magna cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego. Born and raised in San Diego, Liam remains deeply connected to his community through volunteer and civic engagement efforts. Outside of work, he enjoys surfing, reading, and spending time with family and friends while exploring his hometown.

Alexander T. Bauer is a member of Singleton Schreiber’s Fire Litigation practice group and is responsible for managing the discovery team. He is dedicated to advocating zealously for his clients and pursuing justice on their behalf. Prior to joining Singleton Schreiber, Mr. Bauer represented clients in business transactions, personal injury matters and real estate disputes. He was senior counsel for a prominent defense firm, focusing on complex trial litigation, and was responsible for defending and negotiating settlements in catastrophic injury cases. Mr. Bauer then spent six years as trial counsel for a military-focused insurance carrier and developed extensive experience litigating cases, including first-chair jury trials. Mr. Bauer earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ, before receiving his juris doctorate from California Western School of Law. During his time in law school, he was awarded the Moot Court Honors Board Distinguished Advocate Award. Mr. Bauer is barred in California and is admitted to practice in San Diego, California, and the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California. Mr. Bauer volunteers in his spare time and has previously served on the YWCA Board of Directors and as a Volunteer Panel Judge for the Constitutional Rights Foundation Orange County high school mock trials. In his spare time, Mr. Bauer enjoys golfing, bowling, and spending time with his wife and three children.

Krystle Berkstresser is Senior Counsel at Singleton Schreiber, where she serves within the firm’s Public Entity and Fire Litigation Practices. With over a decade of litigation experience, Krystle plays a key role in managing complex cases, including those involving personal injury, insurance defense, public entity defense, product liability, and homeowners' association litigation. Her leadership extends to overseeing all aspects of her cases, from initial intake through settlement or trial. In her role at Singleton Schreiber, Krystle continues to apply her proven ability in navigating mediation, trial preparation, and courtroom strategy, making her a key player in the growing firm. She currently represents wildfire victims who have suffered devastating losses caused by the negligence of utility companies and others, working to support them in their rebuilding journey. Before joining Singleton Schreiber, Krystle was a Partner at a prominent California law firm, where she managed an active caseload and helped mentor budding attorneys. Her previous legal positions gained her significant experience in public entity defense, ADA litigation, and personal injury cases. Krystle earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego School of Law, where she served as the Managing Editor of the San Diego International Law Journal. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Davis.

Leslie A. Brueckner is a Partner at Singleton Schreiber with over 35 years of appellate litigation experience across a broad spectrum of cases, including constitutional, consumer protection, antitrust, bankruptcy, class actions, environmental law, and more. Prior to joining Singleton Schreiber, Leslie was a Partner at a prominent national law firm, where she helped lead the firm’s national Appellate and Supreme Court Practice Group. Before then, Leslie spent nearly three decades at Public Justice, a national advocacy organization, where she argued and won numerous high-profile appeals, including unanimous decisions from both the California and United States Supreme Courts. (Leslie’s 2019 oral argument in Noel v. Thrifty, a unanimous class action ruling from the California Supreme Court, can be accessed via this link. Her 2002 argument in Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting federal preemption of tort claims, can be accessed via this link). Leslie also founded Public Justice’s Food Project, which used strategically targeted litigation to address abuses in American’s industrial animal agriculture system. With decades of appellate experience, Leslie plays a key role in enhancing Singleton Schreiber’s ability to manage complex appeals and develop successful litigation strategies. Her extensive track record in high-stakes cases across a range of legal areas continues to solidify the firm’s standing as a leader in precedent-setting litigation for plaintiffs nationwide. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and summa cum laude graduate of U.C. Berkeley (where she was recognized as the Most Distinguished Graduating Senior in her class of over 5,000 students), Leslie has been awarded the Pro Bono Achievement Award from the Animal Legal Defense Fund; the Women’s Consumer Advocate of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorneys of California; the Appellate Advocacy Award from the Pound Civil Justice Institute for her 2017 California Supreme Court victory in T.H. v. Novartis (CA 2017), and the Dale Haralson Fallout Award from the Western Trial Lawyers Association. Leslie was also a Finalist for the Appellate Lawyer of the Year Award from the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles. In addition to her litigation work, Leslie has taught appellate advocacy at the Georgetown University Law Center and the American University, Washington College of Law.

Knut S. Johnson, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, is the practice group leader for our Environmental Litigation & Policy practice group. He brings over 30 years of experience as a trial attorney to Singleton Schreiber. Representing clients in federal and state courts across the nation, he has handled complex trials, appeals, and habeas corpus proceedings and litigated cases alleging violations of environmental laws, including under the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Mr. Johnson’s diverse and sophisticated litigation practice has included the representation of many clients, from large corporations to small business owners, and from judges to doctors to entire communities. Together with his many trials and appeals, he has represented clients before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Mueller Special Counsel’s Office investigation. Mr. Johnson has been recognized with many awards and honors, including the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, unanimous “Well Qualified” rating (the highest ABA rating) after nomination to U.S. District Court, 2020; Top 50 Attorneys, San Diego Super Lawyers, 2020 and 2019; University of San Diego, School of Law, Distinguished Alumni Award, 2018; America’s Top 100 Attorneys Lifetime Achievement Selection, 2018; Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, 2017; Lawyer of the Year, White Collar Criminal Defense, San Diego, Best Lawyers in America, 2016; and the E. Stanley Conant Award, Defenders Organizations of San Diego, 2005 and 2013. He graduated cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law and before his legal career, Mr. Johnson studied petroleum engineering and geology as an undergraduate and graduate student at Tulane University, where he received the W.A. Tarr Award for outstanding Earth Sciences Graduate. He then worked as a petroleum geologist for a major oil company, where he mapped oil reserves and worked on production estimates and on rigs during the final stages of drilling. He also received a significant amount of professional training in areas like well completion, exploration, and related topics. Mr. Johnson is licensed to practice in the state courts of Arizona, California, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Washington. In addition, he is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as many different U.S. District Courts. He is also admitted to practice before the International Criminal Court, The Hague, Netherlands. He has served as the Chair of the Practitioners Advisory Group to the United States Sentencing Commission and testified before the Commission on several occasions. He presently serves on the Ethics Committee for the San Diego County Bar Association.

Paul Starita is a Partner at Singleton Schreiber with over 30 years of experience as a trial attorney. He exclusively represents plaintiffs in catastrophic personal injury and mass tort matters in State and Federal courts. He leads the Fire Litigation practice group at Singleton Schreiber and litigates a wide range of cases including Personal Injury, Fire, Mass Torts, and more. Before joining the Singleton Schreiber team, Paul served the people of San Diego and Imperial counties as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for over 18 years. Paul represented the United States, its agencies, officers, and employees in a wide variety of civil litigation matters, including cases involving industrial and vehicle accidents, premises liability, wrongful death, medical malpractice, constitutional torts, and employment. In addition, Paul prosecuted civil health care and procurement fraud cases under the False Claims Act. Paul was a federal prosecutor for 10 years before serving as a civil trial attorney. He investigated and prosecuted more than 1,000 felony cases involving corruption, drug trafficking/organized crime, human trafficking, money laundering, and violent crime. He has tried more than 50 jury and bench trials in Federal court. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Paul spent two years at a mid-size law firm in Newport Beach, California, where he litigated land use claims for individual landowners and developers throughout Southern California. Paul proudly served our nation as a U.S. Marine, on active duty and in the Reserve. He attained the rank of Colonel and served in various leadership and legal roles, including Military Trial Judge and Appellate Judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals. For many years, Paul also advised senior government officials on environmental compliance and litigation matters in the Marine Corps’ western region. He also served as the Marine Corps’ lead counsel on regional Clean Air Act matters involving hazardous air pollutants / toxic air contaminants, emissions trading, compliance with national ambient air quality standards, mobile source emissions, stationary source compliance, and fuels. Early in his career, he had a robust trial practice as a military prosecutor involving criminal conduct ranging from DUI to murder. While our nation was at war, Paul was handpicked and returned to active duty to defend Marines accused of war crimes related to combat operations in Iraq. Paul attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School and holds a Master of Laws (LLM) with a concentration in Environmental Law from the University of San Diego School of Law. Paul is currently an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, where he instructs first-year law students on civil trial practice.

Alicia Zimmerman is a partner in Singleton Schreiber’s San Diego office and leads our Fire Litigation practice group, where she oversees a team of more than 100 employees. Ms. Zimmerman is an experienced litigator, well-versed in handling multi-party, complex cases in federal court. Before joining our firm, she worked for Scott+Scott, litigating antitrust class actions on behalf of plaintiffs in various consumer and pharmaceutical cases. Subsequently, she worked at an Am Law 100 international firm, where her practice focused on pursuing and maximizing claims on behalf of national and international clients in complex, financial antitrust settlements. A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, Ms. Zimmerman served as a judicial extern for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Ms. Zimmerman is admitted to practice in California. She also serves as a member of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego Women’s Caucus Committee. Ms. Zimmerman is a certified yoga-sculpt instructor and loves spending time with her family, climbing mountains, and relaxing at the beach.