Sam Sears is a Quality Assurance & Editorial Specialist in the Investigation, Hearing, & Appeal Services Team at Grand River Solutions. Sam provides quality assurance and conducts training on topics related to her work.  

Sam has practiced law for over 20 years, devoting the majority of her practice to the representation of higher education institutions, including serving as in-house counsel for three large public research institutions. In her role as in-house counsel, Sam provided legal support and guidance on the full range of legal issues affecting higher education institutions, including providing legal review of institutional responses to Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, and ADA claims involving faculty, staff, and students. In addition to her work in higher education, Sam served as a General Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). As an OCR attorney, she coordinated responses to complaints alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the educational setting. She also worked as an Associate Attorney for Alston & Bird, LLP, where she was a member of the Litigation and Trial Practice Group. 

Sam frequently led training programs on Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Section 504, the ADA, and related topics for faculty and staff and for her higher education peers at workshops hosted by the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the Association of Student Conduct Administration. 

Sam received her J.D.  from Tulane University School of Law, her M.A. in Canadian politics from the University of British Columbia, and her B.A. in German and political science from the University of Alabama.