Sam Singer, the PR expert who is representing the San Francisco Zoo as it copes with the fallout from a Christmas Day tiger attack that killed one patron and injured two others, says his harsh words about defensive attorneys were not meant to be generalized.

Singer was quoted in the January 2, 2008 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle saying: "Anything that a defense attorney says has to be taken with not a pinch of salt, but a ton of salt."

The Law Firm Online Marketing Association contacted Singer by email to inquire whether he was correctly quoted and to ask whether it was his intention to impugn all defense attorneys.

Responding by email, Singer wrote LFOMA's Dean Rotbart to confirm that the Chronicle had indeed quoted him accurately. 

"I have a deep and abiding respect for defense attorneys in general," Singer explained.  "I meant this quote specifically for this case."

As previously reported, the two tiger attack survivors -- brothers aged 23 and 19 -- have hired noted criminal defense attorney Mark J. Geragos to represent them.  While Geragos himself is a seasoned defense lawyer, his Los Angeles-based law firm, Geragos & Geragos, does have a civil litigation practice.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco police flatly denied rumors that the two brothers and the 17-year-old who was killed by the tiger, were carrying slingshots with them on the day of the attack, according to ABC News.