HERstory
Born and raised in Houston, Manpreet Monica Singh is a proud Texan and fierce advocate for her hometown. As the daughter of immigrants from India, she learned the value of hard work, the American dream, and service from an early age. These ideals helped mold her into the honest and humble person that she is today and cemented her strong respect for the law and pursuit of justice.
Even before Monica’s birth, time and circumstance played a huge role in what precipitated her formative years. Her father, AJ immigrated to the U.S. as an architect in the early 1970s after being issued a green card following the Immigration Act of 1965. As a young, turbaned Sikh and a then bachelor, he followed work wherever regardless of where it would take him. He found himself in Miami, New Jersey, Atlanta, and Dallas before finally putting down roots in Houston. Although he faced blatant discrimination time and time again, AJ and his wife of 46 years, Hardeep, remained focused on their ultimate goal of achieving the American dream. They owned and operated a successful small business (a print shop) and it flourished with the help of sweat equity from their two children. This doggedness and grit were inherited by Monica – and they are attributes that she will bring to the bench. Being a woman of color, she is all too familiar with systems of inequality and she is empathetic to the hardships that the average American faces while trying to achieve their own dreams.
Monica grew up in Northwest Houston and attended Klein Forest High School, the University of Texas at Austin, and finally the South Texas College of Law. She was runner up for Houston Young Lawyers Association Most Outstanding Attorney in 2010 and the South Asian Bar Association Distinguished Member Award Winner in 2017. In addition to practicing law for 20 years and having tried over 100 cases, Monica is heavily involved in numerous civil rights organizations at a local, state, and national level. Currently, she is on the Board of Directors of the ACLU of Texas, the Texas Lyceum, and the Sikh Coalition (also serving as Trustee). However, her service to her trade and community does not end there. She is also a Chapter Representative for the exclusive American Board of Trial Advocates and ongoing lecturer for the Texas Bar CLE classes, an organization that also awarded her the Texas Diversity Champion Award in 2018. To further emphasize her strengths, she won a nationwide Passion of Excellence Award, completed the Harvard Leadership Program, graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy, and Leadership Houston. She was on Mayor Turner’s Transition Team and served as a liaison with the Department of Homeland Security. Monica is regarded in high esteem and respect by those that know her skill set and uncompromising ethics. She is uniquely qualified for the position to serve as Judge for Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 4.
Monica and her husband Mandeep have been married for 19 years and they live in Bellaire. Together they enjoy traveling and spending time with their two soccer-loving boys that attend Bellaire High School.