
Sam Falcon Trimbach
Associate
Sam counsels clients on environmental issues and helps them navigate federal, state, and local regulations. He assesses environmental risk in corporate transactions, advocates for clients in contact with regulators, guides clients in litigation, and helps clients achieve regulatory compliance.
Sam provides assistance on a variety of corporate transactions, including representing buyers, sellers, and lenders. He works on transactions in a range of industries, including automotive, textiles, packaging, food goods, and energy. For each transaction he works on, he helps identify and characterize environmental risks so they can be properly mitigated through contractual provisions.
Sam has experience representing clients in lawsuits involving complex environmental indemnity provisions and arising under CERCLA and similar state statutes. His experience includes handling several aspects of the litigation process, including factual investigation, preparing for and taking fact depositions, working with experts as they draft their reports, and preparing for expert depositions.
Sam has experience assisting clients in communications with regulators in a variety of situations, including requesting the issuance of comfort letters, negotiating permit provisions, and advocating in disputes over potential violations. He also has experience helping clients understand and comply with reporting requirements related to spills, wastewater bypasses, and the discovery of historical contamination.
During law school, Sam served as a Research Assistant to Professor Nadav Shoked, for whom he conducted research and edited articles related to property law and local government issues.
He was previously a summer extern for the Honorable Marvin E. Aspen of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.
- The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch®in America—Recognized for Environmental Law (2026)
- Chambers USA, “Associates to Watch,” Environment: Mainly Transactional (2021–2025)
- “The Lawdragon Green 500: The 2024 Leaders in Environmental Law”
- The Legal 500 US, “Key Lawyer,” Environmental Litigation, 2024
- “Lowden-Wigmore Award,” received for writing the best student Note/Comment published in the Journal of International Law and Business as part of Volume 37
- “Arlyn Miner Book Award,” received for writing the best briefs in his first year legal writing course (one student selected from each legal writing section)
- Dean’s list
- Member, Environmental Law Institute
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Chicago Bar Association
Credentials
Education
Sam received his J.D., cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law in 2017, where he was Managing Editor of the Journal of International Law and Business. Sam was also co-chair of the Student Bar Association-Technology Committee and a team captain with Street Law. He received his B.A., with honors, in geophysical sciences and history, philosophy, and social studies of science and medicine, from the University of Chicago in 2011.
Admissions
- Illinois
Related Insights & News
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Co-author, “NY Plastic Pollution Verdict May Not Bode Well For Other Suits,” Law360, January 2025
- "California’s First-in-the-Nation Climate Disclosure Laws Will Move Forward with Limited Delay Under Recent Amendment," Winston’s Environmental Law Update, Oct. 17, 2024
- "Legal & Regulatory Update: From Greenwashing to New Climate Disclosure Rules," Manufacturers Alliance, Sustainability Council Meeting, Oct. 12, 2023
- “The Evolving PFAS Legal Landscape,” Webinar, Jun. 28, 2023
- "The Evolving PFAS Regulatory Landscape," Food and Beverage Environmental Conference, Apr. 26, 2022
- "PFAS Regulatory and Litigation Update," Chicago Bar Association, Environmental Law Committee Meeting, Jun. 16, 2020
- "The Present and Expected Future of PFAS Regulation and Litigation in the United States," Manufacturers Alliance on Productivity and Innovation, Environmental, Health & Safety Council Meeting, May 28, 2020
- “The Evolving PFAS Regulatory Landscape” Webinar, Jun. 5, 2019
- “Giving the Market a Microphone: Solutions to the Ongoing Displacement of U.S. Workers through the H1B Visa Program,” Volume 37, NW Journal of International Law and Business, 275, 2017
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