The Gilliland Firm was founded by San Diego attorney Douglas S. Gilliland. Mr. Gilliland has been practicing law throughout the state of California since 1991. He is a trial lawyer with a dynamic civil rights practice and also handles high profile criminal defense cases.

Mr. Gilliland’s practice includes section 1983 excessive force, false arrest, cruel and unusual punishment; wrongful death, pre-Boule Bivens actions against the US Border Patrol, ICE, and US Customs and Border Protection, Federal Tort Claims Act, liability of custodial institutions, and state civil rights litigation under the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act and the California Ralph Act. He developed a special niche litigating Bane Act and Ralph Act cases against entities and individuals not acting under color of state law such as private security companies, their security guards, and the sports and entertainment industry, its employees, e.g., bouncers, in-house security personnel, and other commercial hosts of alcohol. Mr. Gilliland has tried high profile criminal cases ranging from first degree murder to federal Ponzi schemes. 

Mr. Gilliland is a member of the Best Lawyers in America which is the oldest and most respected peer review publication in the legal profession. He is also a member of the National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, a Life Member in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Top Trial Lawyers in America, and a member of the peer nominated and reviewed Super Lawyers. He has appeared on Good Morning America and his cases have been covered internationally by the BBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Telemundo and nationally by CNN, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and by many local print and television news agencies.