Tim Samples

Tim Samples is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies at the Terry College of Business. His research on international law focuses primarily on sovereign debt and investor-state disputes. His other primary area of work is interdisciplinary research on emerging issues in law and technology.

His research appears in the American Business Law Journal, the Harvard International Law Journal, the Yale Journal of International Law, the Berkeley Technology Law Journal, the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law, the Cornell International Law Journal, and the Columbia Journalism Review, among other outlets.

Samples was a Fulbright Scholar in Argentina, where he taught courses on sovereign debt at the Facultad de Derecho (School of Law) at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Times, Reuters, Barron’s, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, and BBC Mundo, and has also appeared on CNN en Español, BBC World Service, and National Public Radio.

Samples is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Portuguese.

• JD, Law, University of Texas, 2010
• MA, Latin American Studies, University of Texas, 2010
• BA, International Affairs, University of Georgia, 2004

• Sovereign debt
• Law and technology
• International investment law
• Latin America

Journal Articles

• Plain English in User Terms: Spillover Effects of Enhanced Readability on Consumer Trust, 10 Journal of the Association of Consumer Research (forthcoming 2025) (with Sokiente W. Dagogo-Jack).
• The Sovereign Climate Debt Trap and Natural Disaster Clauses, 61 American Business Law Journal 243 (2024) (with Stephen Kim Park).
• Disclose by Law, Obfuscate by Strategy: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Patent Filings, 50 BYU Law Review 123 (2024) (with Katherine Ireland and W. Michael Schuster).
• Promises and Perils of Sovereign Debt Transparency, 49 Yale Journal of International Law 1 (2024) (with Stephen Kim Park).
• TL;DR: The Law and Linguistics of Social Platform Terms-of-Use, 39 Berkeley Technology Law Journal 47 (2024) (with Katherine Ireland and Caroline Kraczon).
• On the Systemic Importance of Digital Platforms, 25 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law 141 (2023) (with Lindsay Sain Jones).
• Investment Law’s Transparency Gap, 55 Cornell International Law Journal 9 (2022) (with Sebastian Puerta).
• Investment Disputes and Federal Power in Foreign Relations, 59 Columbia Journal of Transnational Law 247 (2021).
• Distrust, Disorder, and the New Governance of Sovereign Debt, 62 Harvard International Law Journal 175 (2021) (with Stephen Kim Park).
• Winning and Losing in Investor-State Dispute Settlement, 56 American Business Law Journal 115 (2019).
• Tribunalizing Sovereign Debt: Argentina’s Experience with Investor-State Dispute Settlement, 50 Vanderbilt Journal Of Transnational Law 1033 (2017) (with Stephen Kim Park).
• Puerto Rico’s Debt Dilemma and Pathways Towards Sovereign Solvency, 54 American Business Law Journal 9 (2017) (with Stephen Kim Park).
• Settling Sovereign Debt’s “Trial of the Century”, 31 Emory International Law Review 5 (2016) (with Juan José Cruces).
• Towards Sovereign Equity, 21 Stanford Journal Of Law, Business & Finance 240 (2016) (with Stephen Kim Park).
• A New Era for Energy in Mexico? The 2013-14 Energy Reform, 50 Texas International Law Journal 603 (2016).
• Rogue Trends in Sovereign Debt: Argentina, Vulture Funds, and Pari Passu Under New York Law, 35 Northwestern Journal Of International Law & Business 49 (2014).
• The Past, Present, and Future of Energy in Mexico: Prospects for Reform Under the Peña Nieto Administration, 35 Houston Journal of International Law 697 (2013) (with José Luis Vittor).
• Energy Reform and the Future of Mexico’s Oil Industry: The Pemex Bidding Rounds and Integrated Service Contracts, 7 Texas Journal Of Oil, Gas & Energy Law 215 (2012) (with José Luis Vittor).

Book Chapters

• Consumer Contracting in the Smartphone Era: New Challenges, An Old Conundrum, in The Cambridge Handbook on Emerging Issues at the Intersection of Commercial Law and Technology (Eds. Stacy-Ann Elvy and Nancy Kim, forthcoming 2024).

• Staff Editor, American Business Law Journal

• Distinguished Early Career Faculty Award, Academy of Legal Studies in Business, 2021
• Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of Georgia, 2020
• Outstanding Teacher Recognition, Student Government Association, 2018
• Holmes Cardozo Distinguished Paper Award, Academy of Legal Studies in Business, 2018
• Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar (Teaching/Research Grant at Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina), 2017
• Holmes-Cardozo Award for Best Conference Paper, Academy of Legal Studies in Business, 2016
• Lilly Teaching Fellow, UGA Center for Teaching and Learning, 2015-17
• Teaching Academy Fellow, UGA Center for Teaching and Learning, 2014-15

• International Business Committee, Chair, 2016 – present, Terry College
• Faculty Concerns Committee, 2024– present, Terry College
• Assistant Director, Lilly Teaching Fellows Program, 2024 – present, University
• Representative, University Council, 2018 –2024, University
• Parliamentarian, 2018 – 2024, Terry College

• Associate (M&A/Corporate and Latin America Practice Groups), Hogan Lovells LLP, 2011-2013
• Associate (Energy and International Practice Groups), Bracewell LLP, 2010-2011
• Analyst (Industrial Cooperation Program - Santiago, Chile), Latinvalley, Ltda., 2005-2006