Overview

Impact Litigation & Policy Group


Building the Cases That Can Change Communities

Some of the most important cases begin before anyone walks into a courtroom.

Singleton Schreiber's Impact Litigation & Policy Group identifies emerging environmental, public health, consumer, and community harms and develops innovative legal strategies to address them.

Working at the intersection of law, science, public policy, and community advocacy, our team investigates potential harms, builds relationships with affected communities and organizations, evaluates the science, and tests legal theories before litigation begins.

Our goal is simple: develop strong cases that protect communities, advance accountability, and drive meaningful change.

AN EMERGING HARM IS NOT ALWAYS A KNOWN CLAIM

Many community harms surface before their cause is clear or a legal theory has been tested. Whether litigation, policy work, or community advocacy offers the right path can depend on the facts, the available science, and governing law, which is why early investigation matters.

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From Emerging Harm to Meaningful Action

A neighborhood may be experiencing persistent noise or pollution from new infrastructure. A community may see rising health concerns without understanding the source. Consumers may be subjected to unfair practices that have never been meaningfully challenged. Historically underserved communities may experience disparities that demand closer investigation.

The Impact Litigation & Policy Group brings together legal analysis and scientific research with policy and community insight to determine what is happening, who is being harmed, who may be responsible, and whether the law provides a path toward accountability.

We take promising matters from initial investigation through legal and factual development. When a matter is ready for litigation, we work with our litigation teams and, where appropriate, co-counsel to move the case forward.

Where Law, Science, Policy, and Community Meet

Impact litigation often begins with a question: Why is this happening, and what can be done about it?

Answering that question can require expertise well beyond the law.

Our team builds relationships across communities and disciplines, bringing together people with firsthand knowledge of an issue and experts who can help determine its cause, scope, and potential legal implications.

That can mean working with community leaders and nonprofit organizations to identify emerging concerns, scientists and researchers to evaluate environmental or public health evidence, policymakers to understand regulatory gaps, and attorneys to develop new legal theories.

Together, we investigate the facts, evaluate potential claims, and build the foundation necessary to pursue meaningful action.

Areas of Focus

The Impact Litigation & Policy Group continually evaluates emerging matters where litigation, policy, or community advocacy may provide a path forward. Current areas of investigation and development include:

1. Environmental & Toxic Exposure

Communities should not have to bear the consequences of pollution, contamination, or hazardous exposure without answers.

Our work may include investigating:

  • Potential connections between environmental exposures and serious health conditions
  • Contaminated water, soil, or other natural resources
  • Toxic exposures requiring epidemiological or toxicological analysis
  • Corporate or infrastructure activity that may threaten public health, property, or quality of life

Our team works with scientific and medical experts to determine whether available evidence supports a potential claim and what additional investigation may be needed.

2. Data Centers & Infrastructure

The rapid expansion of data centers and other large-scale infrastructure projects can have significant consequences for surrounding communities.

Current areas of investigation include:

  • Persistent noise and potential nuisance impacts
  • Increased water consumption and pressure on local resources
  • Electrical demand and grid strain
  • Environmental review and land-use concerns
  • Other impacts on communities surrounding large-scale developments

We work with communities, experts, policymakers, and legal partners to understand these impacts and identify potential paths toward accountability.

3. Civil Rights & Consumer Protection

Unequal treatment can be embedded in systems people interact with every day.

Our team investigates potential disparities involving:

  • Availability or quality of essential services
  • Pricing and consumer practices
  • Delivery and service outcomes in historically underserved communities
  • Financial products and lending practices
  • Policies or business practices that may create broader patterns of unequal treatment

Rather than looking only at individual incidents, we examine whether those experiences reveal a larger pattern that may warrant legal or policy action.

4. Public Health & Emerging Harms

Sometimes a potential health threat becomes visible long before its cause is clear.

Our team investigates circumstances in which environmental conditions, infrastructure, products, or corporate conduct may be contributing to illness or other harm.

That work can involve identifying patterns within affected populations, evaluating possible sources of exposure, consulting scientific and medical experts, and determining whether the available evidence supports further legal investigation.

5. Servicemember & Military Consumer Protection

Those who serve our country are entitled to the protections the law provides.

The group investigates emerging issues affecting servicemembers and military families, including lending practices and contractual provisions that may conflict with federal protections.

One area under review involves mandatory arbitration provisions in servicemember lending agreements and their compliance with the Military Lending Act.

6. Policy and Community Solutions Beyond the Courtroom

Not every community challenge begins or ends with litigation.

The Impact Litigation & Policy Group also works on initiatives designed to create stronger protections before harm occurs or secure meaningful benefits for communities affected by major development.

One area of this work is the development and support of Community Benefits Agreements and Community Benefits Plans. These agreements can address infrastructure investment, local workforce and economic opportunities, environmental protections, meaningful community participation, responsible development, and long-term benefits for affected communities.

By bringing stakeholders together early, these efforts can give communities a stronger voice in projects that may reshape the places where they live and work.

Collaboration Creates Stronger Cases

The people closest to an issue are often the first to recognize that something is wrong.

That is why relationships are central to the Impact Litigation & Policy Group's work.

We collaborate with community organizations, nonprofit groups, researchers, scientists, policymakers, attorneys, and other advocates who share our commitment to protecting communities and holding powerful interests accountable.

These partnerships help us identify emerging harms earlier, uncover information that might otherwise be overlooked, strengthen scientific and factual research, and develop legal strategies capable of creating broader change.

They can also surface issues that might never reach a law firm through traditional channels. A concern raised by a community organization, a pattern identified by a researcher, or an emerging issue recognized by another attorney can become the starting point for a larger investigation.

Information That Can Help Our Review

You do not need to have everything in hand to reach out. If it is available, the following can help the team understand an emerging concern more quickly:

  • A description of what is happening, where, and when it started
  • Photos, videos, or audio recordings, including recordings of persistent noise
  • Notes or logs showing how often the issue occurs and how it affects daily life
  • Water bills, utility notices, test results, or other records tied to the concern
  • Public notices, permits, or project announcements related to nearby development
  • Contracts, loan agreements, or account statements for consumer or lending concerns
  • Letters, emails, or complaints exchanged with a company, agency, or landlord
  • Names of community groups, researchers, or others already looking into the issue

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Impact Litigation?

Impact litigation is legal work aimed at harms that affect communities or groups of people, with the goal of advancing accountability and broader change. At Singleton Schreiber, the Impact Litigation & Policy Group investigates emerging environmental, public health, consumer, and community harms and tests legal theories before litigation begins.

What Does the Impact Litigation & Policy Group Do?

The group identifies emerging harms and develops legal strategies to address them. Working at the intersection of law, science, public policy, and community advocacy, the team investigates potential harms, builds relationships with affected communities and organizations, evaluates the science, and develops matters from initial investigation through legal and factual development.

What Issues Does the Group Investigate?

Current areas of investigation and development include environmental and toxic exposure, data centers and infrastructure, civil rights and consumer protection, public health and emerging harms, and servicemember and military consumer protection. The group also works on policy and community solutions, such as Community Benefits Agreements and Community Benefits Plans.

Can Data Center Noise or Water Use Lead to a Legal Claim?

It may, depending on the facts and governing law. The group is investigating persistent noise and potential nuisance impacts, increased water consumption and pressure on local resources, electrical demand and grid strain, environmental review and land-use concerns, and other impacts on communities surrounding large-scale developments.

Is the Group Reviewing Military Lending Act Issues?

Yes. One area under review involves mandatory arbitration provisions in servicemember lending agreements and their compliance with the Military Lending Act. The group also investigates other lending practices and contractual provisions that may conflict with federal protections for servicemembers and military families.

What Is a Community Benefits Agreement?

A Community Benefits Agreement is a tool intended to secure meaningful benefits for communities affected by major development. These agreements can address infrastructure investment, local workforce and economic opportunities, environmental protections, meaningful community participation, responsible development, and long-term benefits for affected communities.

Do I Need to Know If I Have a Legal Claim Before Reaching Out?

No. You do not need to know whether there is already a viable legal claim. Evaluating whether the facts, the science, and the law support a potential claim is the work the Impact Litigation & Policy Group is here to do.

Who Can Bring an Issue to the Group's Attention?

Anyone with firsthand knowledge of an emerging concern can reach out. The group welcomes information from affected individuals and communities, nonprofit and advocacy organizations, researchers and subject matter experts, attorneys and potential co-counsel, and others.

What Happens When a Matter Is Ready for Litigation?

When a matter is ready for litigation, the Impact Litigation & Policy Group works with Singleton Schreiber's litigation teams and, where appropriate, co-counsel to move the case forward. Not every matter leads to a lawsuit, and some may be better addressed through policy or community advocacy.

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Is There an Issue You'd Like to Bring to Our Attention?

Meaningful litigation often begins when someone recognizes a problem that deserves a closer look.

If you are aware of an emerging environmental, public health, civil rights, consumer, or community issue, the Impact Litigation & Policy Group wants to hear from you.

We welcome information from affected individuals and communities, nonprofit and advocacy organizations, researchers and subject matter experts, attorneys and potential co-counsel, and others with firsthand knowledge of an emerging concern.

You do not need to know whether there is already a viable legal claim. That is what our team is here to investigate. To share what you know, use the Join the Lawsuit form.

Meet the Team

Letitia JohnsonLetitia Johnson
Ebony H. Griffin-GuerrierEbony H. Griffin-Guerrier
Laura SingletonLaura Singleton

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News & Insights

News

  • Letitia Johnson to head new policy group
    |Media Mention, Jackson Advocate News

    Partner Letitia Johnson will lead Singleton Schreiber's new Impact Litigation & Policy Group, which focuses on emerging environmental, public health, and community harms.

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