Samantha Jennifer Block
Counsel
Areas of Focus
- Antibribery/Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
- Congressional Investigations
- Government Contracts
- Disputes & Investigations
- Reputational Recovery
- White Collar Defense & Government Investigations
- Bid Protests
- Complex Commercial Litigation
- Crisis Management
- Lobbying & Public Policy
- Freedom of Information Act
- General Services Administration Contracting
- Government Contracts & Supply Chain
- State & Local Procurement
- Suspension & Debarment
- Small Business Issues
- Anti-Money Laundering
- Pro Bono
- Handles complex litigation and advises clients facing government investigations.
Samantha Block focuses on corporate civil and criminal litigation and government investigations, including anticorruption investigations arising from the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). She also provides strategic counsel to clients in the field of reputational recovery, and advises clients in connection with government contracts, including compliance counseling and representation in investigations and disputes.
Most recently, Samantha served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Thomas C. Wheeler of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Previously, she interned in the Office of the First Lady at the White House during the Obama administration.
Samantha received her J.D. with honors from The George Washington University Law School, where she was a notes and projects editor of the George Washington Law Review. Prior to joining Akin, Samantha interned for the State Department, World Bank and Department of Justice, and was a judicial intern for the Honorable Barbara J. Rothstein in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Honorable Judge Evan J. Wallach in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She was also a student practitioner in her law school’s Criminal Appeals & Post-Conviction Services Clinic.
EducationJ.D., The George Washington University Law School, with honors, 2018
M.A., University of Florida, 2014
B.A., University of Florida, cum laude, 2013
B.S.B.A., University of Florida, 2013
J.D., The George Washington University Law School, with honors, 2018
M.A., University of Florida, 2014
B.A., University of Florida, cum laude, 2013
B.S.B.A., University of Florida, 2013
ClerkshipsU.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
Bar AdmissionsDistrict of Columbia
New York
District of Columbia
New York
- The Legal 500 US, Government Contracts, 2024.
- Adjunct professor, The George Washington University Law School, 2022 - Present .
- Legal intern, U.S. Department of State.
- Legal intern, World Bank.
- Legal intern, U.S. Department of Justice.
- Intern, Office of the First Lady of the United States.
- Moderator, “Defamation in the Post-Me Too Era," Fordham University School of Law Women's 5th Annual Symposium, 2023.
- Radio Interview by Tom Temin, Federal Drive, Federal News Network, 2020.
- Speaker, “What Judges Say to Young Lawyers,” ABA Young Lawyers Division Spring Conference, Washington, D.C., 2019.