Age: early 30s (31 in Pilot - script only)
From: Southern California
Education: Princeton (undergraduate), Duke (Law School)

Work History: billed out at $500 an hour in the private sector
- Dewey/Ballantine (a real law firm, and a damn good one)
- Gage Whitney Pace (not a real law firm, but according to the show, a damn good one - in other words, he's a damn good lawyer. He's the lawyer everyone else in the West Wing goes to, even though apparently they're all lawyers.)
- Congressional Aide

Personal Assistant: Cathy ("She's like my younger sister. Except she gets paid. And she frightens me... But I love her." The Crackpots and These Women) Cathy has disappeared in the second season, owing to Suzy Nakamura's role in the now-defunct Daddio.

Character Traits and Other Things:
- Clumsy ("I heard the clang and the 'ow' and I figured it must be Sam Seaborn." The White House Pro-Am)
- Has trivial knowledge that's going to ensure he turns out just like the President when he grows up. (Can list senators in alphabetical order. Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc; "There's really something kind of freakish about you, you know that?" Celestial Navigation; "I'm turning into one of the funnel people?" War Crimes; "I'm going to guess where you are right now." The Two Bartlets)
- Yet knows nothing about the White House building or its history. (Pilot)
- Occasionally gets writer's block (Enemies; "Sam choked hard on the first draft and wants to burn it." The Portland Trip) and occasionally gets to show how brilliantly he can write on the spot (Galileo).
- Writes without action verbs and without punctuation. ("You know what this is called?" "Bad writing?" "Imagery." "Well, you say 'potato'." Mandatory Minimums)
- Doesn't seem to date often ("I don't know. I never know if they're looking or not." Pilot; "I don't even know what dating is anymore." Galileo) and that's a good thing, considering the problems he's had in the past (not only the call girl, but also he hit on Leo's wife during a party fundraiser, and she's been carrying a grudge ever since. Pilot)
- "[N]uts for dental hygiene". (Celestial Navigation)
- Good at firing people; he's pretty scary when he wants to be. (Take Out the Trash Day, And It's Surely to Their Credit, Ellie) Sometimes. ("I'm gonna bust you like a piņata." Lord John Marbury)

Special Areas of Interest:
- Education (6 Meetings Before Lunch, The Portland Trip, Galileo)
- Drugs (Mandatory Minimums)
- Gun Control (In This White House)
- Environment (The Drop In)
- In charge of recommendations for Executive pardons (Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail)

Personal Life:
- Relationships (in chronological order): Lisa (ex-fiancee; "Lisa and I are getting married in September", In the Shadow of Two Gunmen; "I was never cool enough for you." 100,000 Airplanes); Laurie (the call girl bartending lawyer); Mallory O'Brien (one date). Sam has wisely stayed away from dating in the second season.
- Sails competitively - once fell out of the boat. ("Sam, just stay in the boat this time, and I'm a happy guy." Take This Sabbath Day)
- Used to get beat up as a kid. (Take This Sabbath Day)
- Goes to Bermuda for Christmas, or at least tries to. (In Excelsis Deo)
- Likes football (Enemies, Shibboleth)
- Was Recording Secretary of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society for two years in Princeton (And It's Surely to Their Credit)
- Recently found out his father has been having an affair for 28 years. (Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail)
- Religion still unknown, but he's neither Catholic nor Jewish, so we think we're zeroing in on it. (Manchester)
- Fluent in Spanish (Ways and Means)
- Went to Dungeons and Dragons camp (The Two Bartlets; and while I'm in parentheses, he's so cute, it freaks me out. Seriously.)