Samantha Lachman
Associate
Sam Lachman is a member of DWT's media and entertainment group where she advocates for and counsels content creators on matters related to copyright, trademark, right of publicity, defamation, and the First Amendment. Sam also maintains an active pro bono practice focused on government transparency, including representing a nonprofit newsroom in litigation under the Freedom of Information Act.
Prior to joining DWT, Sam served as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Susan P. Graber of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and the Hon. James V. Selna of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She worked as a politics reporter for HuffPost before attending law school.
Counseling
Pre-broadcast counseling
Provides pre-broadcast and clearance counseling for films, television series, documentaries, and podcasts. Representative projects include "Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna," "Blitz," "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," "Queer for Fear," "Horror's Greatest," "High Science," "Unrestorable," "Red, White, & Royal Blue," "Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss," and "Love, Lizzo."
Intellectual property counseling
Provides fair-use opinions, risk assessments, and other IP advice to content creators, distributors, and technology companies, including Apple, Amazon Studios, Story Syndicate, Left/Right, Words + Pictures, Titmouse, Boardwalk Pictures, Legendary Television, This Machine.
"Inspired by actual events" counseling
Litigation
Copeland v. Netflix et al.
Representing defendants in defamation lawsuit over Peabody-winning docuseries, "Surviving R. Kelly." (D. Del. Ongoing)
OneTaste v. Netflix
Changing World Films v. Parker
Francesca Gregorini v. Apple Inc. et al.
Defended copyright-infringement lawsuit against Blinding Edge, M. Night Shyamalan, and others relating to the television series "Servant." After two-week trial, obtained unanimous jury verdict in favor of all eleven defendants. (C.D. Cal. Ongoing)
Dihno v. Netflix
Admitted to Practice
- California, 2020
- U.S. District Court, Central District of California, 2021
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, 2021
- U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, 2023
Education
- J.D., University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 2019
- Order of the Coif
- Notes Editor, California Law Review
- B.A., Political Science, Duke University, 2013
- Alice M. Baldwin Scholar
- President, Duke Debate
Memberships & Affiliations
- LGBTQ+ Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
Professional Recognition
- Finalist, Julie Orr Heart of Justice Pro Bono Award, 2023
Background
- Judicial Law Clerk, Hon. Susan P. Graber, U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, Portland, Ore., 2020-2021
- Judicial Law Clerk, Hon. James V. Selna, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Santa Ana, Calif., 2019-2020
- Summer Associate, O'Melveny & Myers, San Francisco, 2018
- Judicial Extern, Hon. Jacqueline Scott Corley, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco, 2017
- Reporter, HuffPost, Washington, D.C., 2013-2016