A native of Charleston, SC, Sam graduated from Porter-Gaud School before attending the University of the South (Sewanee) and the University of South Carolina (USC). Sam graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Arts degree, as a history major and political science minor. He remained at USC for law school, where he received a CALI award for academic excellence and obtained a Juris Doctor degree. Sam moved to New York City following law school to continue his education at the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College at Ft. Schuyler, where he graduated with honors with a Master of Science degree in international transportation management, with a Merchant Marine deck officer’s license.
Sam has sailed the deep sea as a deck officer on unlimited tonnage vessels for leading international container liner Maersk. He currently holds the United States Coast Guard licenses as a Second Mate Any Gross Tons Oceans and as a Master Not More Than One Hundred Tons Near Coastal. He has also served as an adjunct professor in the Naval Science Department at The Citadel, instructing senior Naval ROTC cadets in terrestrial navigation and the Nautical Rules of the Road.
Sam has been licensed to practice law since 2008. He spent nearly a decade working at a well-respected multi-state law firm with a focus on litigation and institutional insurance defense work.
Sam co-founded Clawson Fargnoli Utsey, LLC in 2017 and now exclusively represents individuals who have suffered life-altering injuries or death due to the wrongful acts of others, as well as businesses who have suffered serious economic harm due to the wrongful conduct of others. Sam has been able to build on his education, training, and prior experience in representing individuals and businesses in a variety of practice areas. His years of working at a defense-oriented law firm provide invaluable insight into the strategies employed by defense attorneys and insurance companies, which he now puts to good use representing people and businesses who simply want to be made whole after an accident or incident.
Sam is a member of the South Carolina Association for Justice and has assisted that organization in drafting amicus briefs for cases pending before the South Carolina Supreme Court. He is also a member of the Charleston County and Colleton County Bar Associations. Sam has authored numerous articles that have been published in Seaways, Professional Mariner, SC Lawyer, and the Justice Bulletin. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Sam married his wife, Lauren, in December 2008 in Charleston. Lauren is the owner of Charleston Dog Walking Co. and the co-owner of Bitsy & Bea Vintage. Sam and Lauren reside on the peninsula with their daughter, Bitsy, and their dog, Bear. Although the attorneys at Clawson Fargnoli Utsey, LLC joke that they work eight days a week, Sam enjoys spending his free time boating and fishing on the waters surrounding Charleston, running, watching USC football games, attending College of Charleston basketball games, and traveling internationally.