Samuel C. Cortina (Sam)

Sam primarily helps tech companies navigate California class action lawsuits for privacy claims (CIPA, CDAFA, Invasion of Privacy, CCPA) and marketing claims (TCPA, Do Not Call, and CAN-SPAM).  He serves on Law360's Cybersecurity & Privacy Editorial Board and previously worked as an in-house litigation attorney at TikTok.  He has also advised Fortune 100 companies on their terms of service, consent disclosures, privacy policies, and website and marketing practices.

His notable matters include:

• The Daily Journal recognized Sam for a "Top Defense Verdict" in securing dismissal of a putative class action raising TCPA claims against his tech client.
• First-of-its-kind summary judgment order in California dismissing a potential multi-billion dollar class action under the California Invasion of Privacy Act for alleged wiretapping in relation to a website chat function.
• Voluntary dismissal of all claims by a competitor after Sam demonstrated in motion practice that the competitor had overstated its case and damages against his tech client.
• Advised a tech company on its marketing practices, and several years later, that same company received a demand letter that would have exposed them to potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of damages had the client not previously implemented his advice.

Sam is also a member of the Mexican Bar Association, and he dedicates a large part of his practice to pro bono work, through which he has obtained an injunction to improve the conditions of detention in Border Patrol facilities in Arizona and won asylum for an indigent youth from Mexico.  He has won the Pro Bono Service Award every year he's been at King & Spalding. 

Beyond his tech work, Sam has broad experience in complex commercial matters, including partnership and breach of contract disputes, trial, and arbitration (including enforcement of tens of millions of dollars of arbitration awards).  Clients especially value Sam's attentiveness and dedication to their personal goals, as he does not rely on a one-size-fits-all strategy.

Sam graduated from Harvard Law School in 2015, where he was a research assistant for Professor Laurence Tribe and Co-President of the Harvard Mediation Program.  He clerked for a federal district court and a federal circuit court before joining King & Spalding.  When not practicing law, Sam spends time with his rescue dogs, Alvin and Dash, and surfs and hikes in Southern California.