Sam Sheldon

Sam Sheldon is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s San Diego office, where he focuses on securities fraud and other complex civil litigation. Before joining the Firm in January 2024, Sam served more than five years as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Texas, primarily in Houston.

Sam previously served as Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit in the DOJ Criminal Division in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw the prosecution of federal health care fraud throughout the United States. He also was an Assistant United States Attorney in Texas. He received numerous awards for his successful federal prosecutions from the DOJ and other federal agencies including the Special Achievement Award presented by the United States Attorney General.

Sam is most proud of his pro bono accomplishments, including successfully persuading Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Biden to grant nine federal clemency petitions. Feature stories describing his legal victories have appeared in The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, Los Angeles Daily Journal, The San Diego-Union Tribune, San Diego Lawyer, ABC Nightly News, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. A victory in one of Sam’s pro bono cases was selected by the Editor of The American Lawyer as the “Most Inspiring Pro Bono Win of 2015.”

Sam received his Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Southern California, where he proudly served as the Student Body President. Sam received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Houston Law Center.