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Practices

Biography

Sam is a litigator who primarily focuses on complex insurance-coverage disputes between policyholders and insurers. His work in this area includes “occurrence” disputes, E&O coverages, Kentucky uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage exclusions, builder’s risk, cancellation issues, causation disputes over sources of damage to property, personal property valuation litigation, underwriting negligence, litigation over exclusions for intentional or criminal acts, insurer liability for broker negligence, agency issues, and business interruption claims, among others. Sam has been named a Kentucky Super Lawyers “Rising Star”® in litigation for each of the past three years.

Sam is active in the nationwide insurance coverage bar, and currently serves as an editorial board member for Insurance Law Essentials, an influential trade publication, and as vice-chair of technology and social media for the American Bar Association’s Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee. Sam has litigated insurance-coverage defenses for underwriters in a wide variety of disputes in state and federal courts in Kentucky and elsewhere, including theft, fire loss, underwriting error, cancellation disputes, and a myriad of others.

As a former reporter, Sam is also passionate about media and open records law. He has represented a variety of Kentucky companies and individuals in disputes under Kentucky’s Open Records Act, and has also defended news reporters in defamation, libel, and slander actions.

Sam is heavily involved in public service with the state and local legal community. He serves on the editorial board of Bench & Bar magazine – the Kentucky Bar Asssociation’s flagship publication – and is an incoming appointee to the Louisville Bar Association’s Board of Directors. He is a past chair of the LBA’s Litigation Section, for which he received the “Section of the Year” award. He also devotes a significant portion of his time to pro bono work and volunteerism.

Outside of the office, Sam loves fly fishing, watching sports, traveling, reading mysteries, and spending time with his kids (he even serves as commissioner of Frost Brown Todd’s Louisville office fantasy football league).

Other Info About Sam

Work History

Prior Work Experience

Associate, Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius, Miami, 2012 (summer associate), 2013-2014
Complex civil litigation and appellate, focusing on financial-industry defense.

Newspaper reporter, various (2002-2010)
Covered local, regional, and national news stories for newspapers in Western North Carolina and the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill “Triangle” region of North Carolina.
Served as Associated Press North Carolina correspondent covering U.S. House and Senate elections and news

Education

Law School

University of Miami School of Law, J.D., 2013, Summa cum laude

Undergraduate School

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., Journalism, 2010, Highest Honors

Clerkships

Sam served as a clerk for the court(s) and judge(s) below:

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the Honorable Paul C. Huck, 2014-2015

Bar Memberships

Sam is licensed to practice in the following state(s):

Kentucky, 2016

Florida, 2013

Recognition

Local & National Recognition

Best Lawyers: “Ones to Watch in America, Appellate Practice”, 2022

Selected for inclusion in Kentucky Rising Stars®, 2018-2022, Litigation

North Carolina Press Association: “First Place, Deadline Reporting”, 2009

Professional Affiliations

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

Louisville Bar Association, Board of Directors Appointee, 2022-2023

ABA Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, Vice-Chair of Technology and Social Media, 2021

Insurance Law Essentials, Editorial Board Member, 2021

Kentucky Bar Association Bench and Bar Magazine, Editorial Board Member, 2021

Louisville Bar Association, Litigation Section Member, 2019-2021 (Vice-Chair, 2019; Chair, 2020)

Civic Activities

Civic & Charitable Organizations

Doctors & Lawyers for Kids, Advisory Board, 2021

Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Mentor, 2021

Louisville Urban League – Reilly Reentry Project, Pro Bono Volunteer, 2021

Salvation Army Christmas Toy Drive, Santa’s Court, 2017 – 2021

Jefferson County Public Schools, Financial Advisory Committee Member, 2017 – 2018

Pro Bono Work

Served as attorney ad litem for a 15-year-old human-trafficking victim. Sam successfully obtained dismissal of a criminal charge filed against the victim in California, convincing the prosecutors to pursue the traffickers instead.

Worked on a team to represent an asylum applicant who had been assaulted by police in her native country.

Served as pro bono attorney for Miami “Art Law,” which provided free legal services to regional artists.

Currently volunteers with the Louisville Urban League’s “Reilly Reentry” initiative, which assists in expunging criminal convictions.

Presentations

Sam was invited to speak at the following events:

Online Judicial Panel – Explaining Court Operations Under Covid-19 Restrictions, April-May 2020
Moderated panels including state and federal trial and appellate judges on legal practice and court operations under COVID restrictions.

Jefferson County’s New Business Court Docket: A Panel Discussion, December 2019
Organized panel discussion featuring Kentucky Supreme Court Deputy Chief Justice Lisbeth Hughes, Jefferson Circuit Court Chief Judge Angela McCormick Bisig, and Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Charles Cunningham, to discuss the Jefferson Circuit Court’s Business Court pilot project.

Legal Ethics, June 2018 and June 2019
Prepared and presented LBA Continuing Legal Education Program on changes in legal ethics rules.

Major Publications

Sam is an author or contributor to the following publications:

Social Engineering Attacks May Be Insured By Commercial Crime Coverage, ABA ICLC Newsletter, Fall 2021 (publication pending)

Insurance Coverage for Real Estate Nondisclosure Claims, ABA Tortsource, Fall 2021 (publication pending)

Telehealth and COVID-19: The Crisis Popularized Virtual Medicine – Will the Law Keep Up?, KBA Bench & Bar, September/October 2020

Miller v. House of Boom: Kentucky Supreme Court Issues Key Decision on Parental Liability Waivers, KBA Bench & Bar, March/April 2020

Braidy Industries – Case Note on Kentucky Open Records Act, LBA Bar Briefs, Summer 2019

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