Sam advises clients on privacy, cybersecurity, intellectual property, technology, commercial, and regulatory matters, drawing on extensive in-house and private practice experience. She is known for providing pragmatic advice that helps organizations navigate complex legal and compliance challenges while supporting innovation and growth.
Sam grew up in Queensland, Australia and obtained her law degree from Griffith University in 2011. She has been called to the bar in Queensland (AUS), and actively practices in British Columbia (CAN), California (USA) and Alberta (CAN).
Prior to joining the firm, Sam served as Senior Legal Counsel, Data Protection Officer and CAMLO at a high-growth global financial technology company, where she advised on commercial, payments regulatory, cybersecurity, and privacy matters. Before that, she was Legal Counsel and Global Privacy Officer at a mature global SaaS compliance company, advising on commercial, privacy, and regulatory matters across multiple jurisdictions.
Sam has a passion for privacy and security, and received her LLM from York University, specializing in Cybersecurity and Privacy. In addition, Sam is a Certified Information Privacy Professional in Canada, the European Union and Asia; a Certified Information Privacy Manager; and is recognized as a Fellow of Information Privacy. Sam has a deep knowledge of global privacy issues and extensive experience working with companies to deftly navigate privacy and data security risks within their organizations. She also regularly acts as counsel in inquiries before the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, both in public sector and private sector matters, and she regularly advises on compliance in cross-border privacy issues and privacy breach matters.
In addition, Sam advises clients on intellectual property matters, including trademarks, copyright issues, and intellectual property strategy. She works with clients to identify, protect and maximize the value of their intellectual property assets, particularly in technology-driven industries.
Sam also advises on a broad range of technology and commercial matters, including AML compliance, conducting compliance reviews, negotiating various IT agreements, providing strategic counsel on the adoption of new technologies, and resolving contractual disputes. A certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Sam is experienced in payments regulation and anti-money laundering compliance and provides strategic counsel to fintechs and other growing businesses operating in highly regulated environments.
