Sam is a member of the Labor & Employment practice in Greenberg Traurig's Sacramento office. Sam is particularly experienced in defending single-plaintiff, class, and PAGA actions across a full range of topics, including misclassification, wage and hour, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, leaves of absence, and employee accommodations. Sam’s clients include retailers, airlines, hospitality companies, private equity firms, and tech companies. Some representative examples of Sam’s experience include:
•Ongoing defense of e-commerce company in numerous wage and hour class and PAGA actions alleging claims for unpaid overtime, meal and rest break violations, wage statement violations, and similar claims;
•Ongoing defense of manufacturing company in multiple wage and hour class and PAGA actions alleging unpaid overtime and related claims;
•Obtained complete summary judgment win for e-commerce company in action by former employee alleging pregnancy discrimination;
•In a trade secret case alleging theft of confidential business information, obtained dismissal of all claims on behalf of technology company and its executives. Successfully defended dismissal on appeal before settling;
•Obtained ruling from California Labor Commissioner dismissing misclassification and wage and hour claims against technology company;
•After prevailing on a motion to compel arbitration and obtaining complete dismissal of all class claims, obtained settlement of wage and hour claims on behalf of global hospitality company.
Prior to joining the firm, Samuel served as a law clerk for the Honorable Dale A. Drozd for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, where he worked on a variety of civil cases including trade secret matters, employment disputes, property disputes, breaches of contract, civil rights, and habeas.
Sam has also acted as Special Counsel to the General Counsel for the National Security Agency (NSA). He provided legal and policy advice in direct support to NSA’s General Counsel.
Judicial Clerkships
•Hon. Dale A. Drozd, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, 2017-2019
Recognition & Leadership
Awards & Accolades
•Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, 'Ones to Watch,' Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2026
•Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Northern California Super Lawyers, 'Rising Stars,' 2024-2025
