Sam (Ngāi Tahu) is the General Counsel for the Tauranga City Council. He was previously a solicitor with Holland Beckett and Simpson Grierson. Sam has also taught sports law at the University of Waikato, including lecturing on contemporary issues in sports law. He has considerable knowledge of Tribunal decisions and of integrity in sport issues and has appeared before the Tribunal on a number of occasions. He also has had a lengthy involvement in sport as a participant, an official and in sports governance.