Kern Singh has spent more than a decade building a legal practice around one of the most personal questions families face: what happens to everything they have built when they are no longer there to manage it themselves?

As Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of The Singh Law Firm, PC, Singh leads an estate planning practice serving families, entrepreneurs and business owners across California. The firm focuses exclusively on estate planning, with work ranging from traditional trusts and wills to advanced strategies involving estate taxation, Qualified Small Business Stock, startups, IPOs and major liquidity events.

What began in 2010 as a small practice has grown into an organization with offices across California and a team designed to serve clients at very different stages of wealth creation.

For Singh, the growth of the firm reflects a broader idea: protecting a legacy requires planning long before a crisis occurs.

An Early Interest in Law Becomes a Career

Singh says his interest in becoming a lawyer began when he was still in eighth grade. He later earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Political Science and Criminology from the University of California, Irvine before completing his Juris Doctor at Monterey College of Law. His early legal experience included work with the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office under then-District Attorney Kamala Harris. That experience gave him exposure to advocacy, analysis and the responsibilities that come with helping people navigate serious legal situations. But Singh ultimately chose a very different area of law. Rather than building a career around litigation, he focused on estate planning, an area centered on helping individuals and families prepare for events they often prefer not to think about.

Building The Singh Law Firm

The Singh Law Firm began in January 2010.

From the beginning, the practice focused exclusively on estate planning. Singh has explained that his family’s experience influenced that decision. His family has roots in the United States stretching back more than a century, and he saw firsthand both the difficulties that can arise when families do not have proper estate plans and the relief that comes from planning in advance.

That understanding became part of the firm’s approach: estate planning is not simply about documents. It is about giving families greater clarity around what happens to their assets, businesses and responsibilities in the future. Over time, the practice expanded significantly.

The firm reported reaching 15,000 clients served in 2021 and 20,000 by June 2023. Today, its website lists offices in Silicon Valley, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Ventura, Newport Beach and La Jolla. The growth has transformed Singh’s role along with it.

He moved from being the attorney responsible for nearly every part of the business to leading a larger organization with specialized executives, attorneys and operational teams.

Planning for Founders and the Innovation Economy

Singh’s work has also developed alongside California’s startup and technology ecosystem.

His practice includes advanced estate planning involving Qualified Small Business Stock, or QSBS, startup ownership, estate taxes, IPOs and liquidity events.

These issues can become particularly important for founders and early employees whose wealth may be concentrated in company equity.

Before an IPO, acquisition or other major liquidity event, the value and structure of that ownership can change dramatically. Estate planning therefore becomes connected not only to what happens after someone dies, but also to tax strategy, gifting, succession and how wealth is transferred across generations.

That intersection places Singh’s practice close to an important part of the South Asian American professional experience in California.

South Asian founders, physicians, executives, engineers and business owners have become deeply embedded in the state’s innovation economy. As those careers create businesses and significant personal wealth, sophisticated planning becomes another part of building a lasting legacy.

watch full interview on The INDUStryShow:https://theindustryshow.org/kern-singh/

From Doing Everything to “Delegate to Elevate”

One of the most important changes in Singh’s career has been learning that a founder cannot personally control every part of a growing organization.

Like many entrepreneurs, he spent the early years handling multiple responsibilities beyond practicing law. Growth eventually required him to build specialized leadership around finance, operations, human resources and technology.

His philosophy can be summarized simply: delegate to elevate.

The idea is that founders eventually have to stop being responsible for every individual task if they want the organization itself to become stronger.

Delegation is not about becoming less involved. It is about allowing capable people to take ownership while the founder focuses on strategy, culture and where the organization needs to go next. That transition helped Singh move from operating a law practice to leading a scalable professional-services business.

Bringing Technology Into a Traditional Industry

The legal profession has historically moved cautiously when adopting new technology. Singh sees that as both a challenge and an opportunity. As law firms manage increasing amounts of information, client communication and complex planning, technology can reduce administrative friction and create more consistent systems. Artificial intelligence is adding another layer to that transformation.

While legal judgment and trusted professional relationships remain important, AI and automation have the potential to change research, document preparation, internal operations and the way firms deliver services. Singh’s approach is to prepare for that change rather than resist it.

For a growing law firm, technology is not simply about having newer software. It is about creating systems that allow professionals to spend more of their time on work requiring human judgment while making routine processes more efficient.

Building Culture Alongside Scale

Rapid expansion creates another challenge: preserving culture. Singh has emphasized the importance of clear expectations and shared values as his firm has grown.

For him, a successful organization cannot depend entirely on the personality of its founder. Values have to become part of hiring, management and everyday decision-making.

That includes creating an environment where team members can focus on their work without unnecessary negativity or internal friction.

The approach reflects an important lesson for professional firms.

Expertise may attract clients, but sustainable growth also depends on the people, processes and culture surrounding that expertise.

As the organization becomes larger, those systems become increasingly important.

Recognition in the Legal Profession

Singh’s work has also received professional recognition. He and fellow firm founder Sharmila Singh have been selected for Super Lawyers recognition over multiple years. The firm’s history notes that both founders were first recognized in 2015 and continued receiving the distinction in subsequent years.

Singh has also appeared on national media platforms discussing estate planning and wealth preservation. These recognitions have accompanied the firm’s expansion, but his broader focus remains on building an organization capable of serving families over the long term.

Estate planning itself is fundamentally a long-term profession. Its success may not become visible until years or decades after the original plan was created. That reality encourages a style of thinking very different from chasing immediate results.

Discipline Beyond the Office

Singh also connects professional performance with personal discipline.

Leading a growing organization requires sustained energy and the ability to make decisions under pressure. He has spoken about maintaining regular exercise, structured routines and intentional time away from digital devices.

The principle is straightforward: an entrepreneur cannot separate the health of the organization entirely from the health of the person leading it. For professionals accustomed to treating long hours as a sign of commitment, that perspective offers a different model.

Discipline does not only mean working more. It can also mean maintaining the habits that make sustained performance possible.

A South Asian American Story About Building for the Future

Kern Singh’s career reflects a form of South Asian American leadership that extends beyond professional achievement alone. His work sits at the intersection of law, entrepreneurship, wealth creation and family legacy.

Those themes are increasingly relevant as more South Asian Americans build companies, advance into senior professional roles and create generational wealth in the United States. The next question becomes how that success is protected, transferred and used to support the generations that follow.

Singh has built his career around helping families answer that question. At the same time, his own journey from attorney to founder and organizational leader demonstrates what happens when professional expertise is combined with entrepreneurship.

The Singh Law Firm began as a focused legal practice. More than a decade later, it has become a multi-office organization serving clients across California. The lesson behind that growth is not simply about law. It is about building patiently, surrounding yourself with capable people, adapting to change and remaining committed to a long-term vision.

Key Takeaways About Kern Singh

• Kern Singh is the Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of The Singh Law Firm, PC.
• The firm was founded in 2010 and focuses exclusively on estate planning.
• Singh specializes in advanced planning involving QSBS, startups, estate taxation, IPOs and liquidity events.
• He earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Political Science and Criminology from UC Irvine and a Juris Doctor from Monterey College of Law.
• Early in his legal career, he worked with the San Francisco County District Attorney’s Office under then-District Attorney Kamala Harris.
• The Singh Law Firm reported surpassing 20,000 clients served in 2023.
• The firm currently lists six offices across California, including Silicon Valley, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Ventura, Newport Beach and La Jolla.
• Singh has received repeated Super Lawyers recognition for his estate planning work.
• His leadership philosophy emphasizes delegation, strong organizational culture, technology and long-term strategic thinking.
• His career reflects the growing need for sophisticated estate and legacy planning as South Asian American founders, executives and families build businesses and generational wealth in the United States.