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. He wrote opinions in almost every area of the law, including securities fraud, intellectual property, class actions, labor and employment, False Claims Act, and criminal law.Before taking the federal bench, Sam was a federal prosecutor and a litigation partner at Quinn Emanuel in Washington, D.C., where he headed the firm’s Health Care Practice Group. He also 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, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in Texas. Sam has tried 25 cases as a federal prosecutor and civil litigator. He is most proud of his pro bono accomplishments, including successfully persuading Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama to grant eight federal clemency petitions. He has been recognized repeatedly for his work in law enforcement by the DOJ and other federal agencies, including receiving the Special Achievement Award presented by the United States Attorney General.