People
Senior Associate
Sam is a highly skilled litigator whose practice focuses on complex commercial litigation for clients in consumer-facing industries, including providing advice on the California Consumer Privacy Act. He has drafted successful substantive and discovery motions in federal and state court, negotiated favorable outcomes against opposing counsel, and efficiently managed the daily obligations of ongoing litigation. Also important to his practice is his pro bono work, through which he has, with others, obtained an injunction to improve the conditions of detention in border patrol facilities in Arizona and won asylum for an indigent youth from Mexico.
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. Since graduating from law school, he clerked on a federal district court and a federal circuit court, and developed his litigation skills in private practice in Southern California.
Clients regularly seek Sam out because he makes it a point to understand--and prioritize--their goals. Some of his representative matters include: a products liability class action for a fitness wearable company; a products liability defense for a medical manufacturer; a trade secrets dispute between a ridesharing company and a large tech group; a TCPA class action for a ridesharing company; and pre-litigation advice to several companies regarding compliance with the CCPA. Sam's tenacity and thoughtfulness have contributed to favorable results, both in litigation and consumer engagement, in all of the aforementioned matters.
J.D., Harvard Law School
B.A., University of California-Los Angeles, summa cum laude with honors
California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Judicial Clerk, Honorable Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Judicial Clerk, Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
Spanish
February 4, 2021
Daily Journal Names King & Spalding Win for Postmates Among Top California Verdicts of 2020
November 20, 2020
Luan Tran, Samuel Cortina, James Berger and Charlene Sun advise Salalah Sanitary Drainage in a contract dispute with Parsons Engineering
February 4, 2021
Daily Journal Names King & Spalding Win for Postmates Among Top California Verdicts of 2020
November 20, 2020
Luan Tran, Samuel Cortina, James Berger and Charlene Sun advise Salalah Sanitary Drainage in a contract dispute with Parsons Engineering
February 4, 2021
Daily Journal Names King & Spalding Win for Postmates Among Top California Verdicts of 2020
November 20, 2020
Luan Tran, Samuel Cortina, James Berger and Charlene Sun advise Salalah Sanitary Drainage in a contract dispute with Parsons Engineering
J.D., Harvard Law School
B.A., University of California-Los Angeles, summa cum laude with honors
California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Judicial Clerk, Honorable Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Judicial Clerk, Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
Spanish