Introduction
Samantha Wainaina is an associate in Nixon Peabody’s Corporate practice group and a member of the firm’s Entertainment and Sports Team. Samantha has extensive experience representing high-profile actors, directors, producers, writers, athletes, cultural leaders, and media personalities across the entertainment and sports industries.
My focus
My practice sits at the intersection of film, television, sports, and the creator economy, and connects those worlds to the corporate and venture infrastructure that makes talent businesses scalable. Drawing on nearly a decade of experience at some of Hollywood’s most respected talent firms and agencies, I represent clients in all aspects of their entertainment careers, including, without limitation, structuring and negotiating complex film, television, streaming, digital media, financing, and distribution deals, as well as endorsement, licensing, and sponsorship deals with sophisticated equity and profit participation components.
Additionally, I counsel clients on launching production companies and aid them in crafting and implementing integrated strategies that align their legal, economic, and creative objectives, with an emphasis on brand building, IP ownership, and expanding their platforms into multidimensional businesses with lasting commercial value.
In the news
- Sports Business Journal
Sports Business Daily: Executive transactions
April 17, 2026The following article features the selection of New York City Corporate partner Nic Mayne and Los Angeles Community Development Finance partner Sonia Nayak as leaders of NP’s Entertainment & Sports team, and also the NP arrivals of Los Angeles Corporate associates Loren Shokes and Sam Wainaina. Nic is quoted on the strategic goals for the team, and Albany partner and Corporate practice group leader Todd Tidgewell is quoted from the firm’s press release.
- Sportico
Sportico transactions: Moves and mergers roundup
April 17, 2026The following article features the selection of New York City Corporate partner Nic Mayne and Los Angeles Community Development Finance partner Sonia Nayak as leaders of NP’s Entertainment & Sports team, and also the NP arrivals of Los Angeles Corporate associates Loren Shokes and Sam Wainaina. Nic is quoted on the strategic goals for the team, and Albany partner and Corporate practice group leader Todd Tidgewell is quoted from the firm’s press release.
- Law360
Nixon Peabody names entertainment and sports team heads
April 16, 2026The following article features the selection of New York City Corporate partner Nic Mayne and Los Angeles Community Development Finance partner Sonia Nayak as leaders of NP’s Entertainment & Sports team, and also the NP arrivals of Los Angeles Corporate associates Loren Shokes and Sam Wainaina. Nic is quoted on the strategic goals for the team, and Albany partner and Corporate practice group leader Todd Tidgewell is quoted from the firm’s press release.
Admitted to practice
California
Education
Tufts University, B.A.
University of California, Berkeley, J.D.
Insights And Happenings
View AllProfessionals in the Practice Area
View AllSonia A. Nayak
Partner / Co-Leader, Entertainment and Sports Team / Office Managing Partner, Los Angeles- Los Angeles
- Los Angeles +1 213.629.6072
- snayak@nixonpeabody.com
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Nicoleas Mayne
Partner / Co-Leader, Entertainment and Sports Team- New York City
- New York City +1 212.940.3035
- nmayne@nixonpeabody.com
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David L. May
Partner / Co-Lead, IPPG Sports & Sporting Goods Team- Washington, DC
- Washington, DC +1 202.585.8220
- dmay@nixonpeabody.com
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