Left to right: Paul Perantinides, Sam Nukes, Chris Nolan

As a first-year law student in 1967, Paul Perantinides was walking on South Main Street in downtown Akron, looking up at the windows of the buildings, when a distinguished-looking man approached him and said, “Excuse me, young man, are you lost?”

Paul replied that, in his hometown of Campbell, Ohio, the lawyers have their names, in gold letters with black trim, on the windows of big buildings. He said he was looking for a lawyer to hire him as an intern. 

The man, Sotir Samuel Nukes, replied, “Well, I’m a lawyer. Maybe I can help you.”

So began the legal career of Paul Perantinides, who, after working as an intern and attorney for Nukes, later formed, with fellow attorney Chris Nolan, the law firm Nukes, Perantinides & Nolan — today known as Perantinides & Nolan.    

Now, nearly 60 years after that fateful meeting on South Main Street, Paul and Chris fondly remember their mentor and friend, Sam Nukes, who passed away on June 9, 2024, at the age of 96. 

It was thanks to Sam, they say, that they got their first real opportunity – and credibility – in the legal profession.

“He has a very special place in my heart,” Paul says. “His reputation gave us instant credibility and the opportunity to grow and have failures and still be encouraged. He always said, ‘If you believe in something, go after it.’ He saw something in me that I didn’t know I had.”

“He gave us a start, he gave us the opportunity to learn, to become better lawyers, and he taught us how to deal with people and clients,” Chris adds. “He had a wealth of experience and gave excellent advice.”

In addition to being an accomplished attorney and president of the Akron Bar Association, Sam had a reputation for professionalism, kindness, and trustworthiness. 

 “You could trust everything he said,” Paul says. “He instilled in me the importance of doing what’s right — of helping people.”

“Everyone liked Sam,” Chris adds. “He was a leader, a good person, and an ethical lawyer. Ethics was very important to him.”

Described by Paul as a “Renaissance man,” Sam, the son of Albanian immigrants, was a Navy veteran, avid reader and student of history, coin collector, lover of classical music, board member of his church, and devoted husband and father.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Alice; his children, Theodore and Elizabeth; and his grandsons, Anthony and Sammy. 

His obituary can be read here.