As General Counsel, Sam Cothran leads Motley Rice’s legal department, directing and advising the firm’s management on diverse in-house legal matters. He supervises and handles legal matters and opinions regarding governmental compliance, contracts and legal defense. He works closely with the firm’s practice group leaders and executive administrative team members on labor and employment, marketing, financial and operational issues. He is also responsible for proactively addressing the complex ethical challenges inherent in practicing law, such as multi-jurisdictional and international practice. 

After working for an international accounting firm as a certified public accountant and for several Fortune 1,000 companies as a financial manager, Sam attended law school to further complement his background in business management and finance, recognizing that law and business are continually intertwined. Sam brought nearly 20 years of business experience to Motley Rice when he joined the firm as General Counsel in 2003.

Sam is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, he American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. As a law student, Sam was awarded the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Wig and Robe and served as Managing Editor of the South Carolina Law Review. He is the author of Dischargeability Of Consumer Credit Card Debt In Bankruptcy After Anastas v. American Savings Bank, 48 S.C.L. Rev. 915 (1997).