Industries

• Manufacturing
  • Consumable Goods
  • Industrials
• Technology

Practices

• Franchise & Distribution
• Intellectual Property
  • Copyright
  • IP Litigation
  • Social Media, Internet & E-Commerce
  • Trademarks
• International Services

Biography

Sam is an “a to z” brand lawyer, representing both domestic and global clients in a wide array of intellectual property matters relating to trademark, copyright, and unfair competition issues, with a particular emphasis on trademark prosecution, counseling, licensing, enforcement and litigation, including the defense and prosecution of inter partes proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. 

In addition, Sam assists clients with anti-counterfeiting measures in both the U.S. and abroad, including past efforts for a world-famous cartoon brand that necessitated interaction with counsel and customs authorities in numerous countries on an almost daily basis as well as ongoing enforcement efforts for one of the world’s most recognizable collegiate brands.  Sam also has extensive experience representing clients in intellectual property disputes on the internet, including domain name disputes and the misuse of copyrighted material, and has brought successful Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceedings to recover domain names from cybersquatters on behalf of The Limited, Cracker Barrel, Food Network, HGTV and totes-Isotoner, just to name a few.  These UDRP proceedings included key domains for these companies, such as thelimitedscandalcollection.com, crackerbarrel.online, hgtvmagazine.com, foodnetworkasia.com and isotoner-slippers.com. 

While Sam services clients in all industries, she has extensive experience with procuring and protecting brands in the lifestyle, sports/collegiate, and food/beverage industries.  Her career has included many highlights, including her previous work assisting women’s fashion retailer The Limited with negotiating an exclusive license with ABC, actress Kerry Washington, and fashion designer Lyn Paolo for a fashion line based upon the then hit show Scandal, and her recent success with securing the widely publicized trademark registration for THE on behalf of The Ohio State University. 

Sam has also been consistently ranked in the gold band of the World Trademark Review 1000 (WTR 1000) since 2015, an independent ranking of the top 1000 trademark practitioners world-wide. According to the WTR 1000, “[Sam’s] facility for getting signatures on the dotted line is famed among peers, particularly when it comes to sports and collegiate licensing.”  The World Trademark Review has also noted Sam’s “very practical and business-minded” approach to client service, and is quoted as being “one of the most knowledgeable and experienced trademark attorneys in the country” and having “built a very sophisticated practice.”

Before becoming a trademark lawyer, Sam had aspirations of becoming a business and tax attorney.  After receiving the degree of Juris Doctor (J.D.), she pursued the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Business and Taxation. During this time, Sam also took a position as a project assistant for a team of trademark attorneys and was heavily involved in the successful defense against a trademark infringement suit, including the request for a preliminary injunction, brought against the then upcoming launch of Current TV in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio. It was this very experience that signaled a change in Sam’s aspirations.

Sam is a member of the Ohio, Maryland, and D.C. bars.