Profile
Jeff E. Scott serves as Greenberg Traurig's General Counsel. Jeff is a nationally recognized trial lawyer with substantial experience acting as lead trial counsel for many cases before judges, jurors, and arbitrators. He represents clients in major litigation in a wide variety of areas, including media and entertainment, intellectual property, class action, unfair competition, commercial contract disputes, and business torts. His clients include some of the nation’s largest companies.
Jeff was recognized as “Litigation Attorney of the Year,” by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and was lauded as a “go-to” litigator for major motion pictures studios and gaming companies. He has also been recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a top commercial litigation attorney, The Hollywood Reporter as a winner of its “Top 100 Power Lawyers Award” and listed on Variety Magazine’s “Legal Impact Report,” and the BTI Client Service All-Stars Report.
Jeff is actively involved in Los Angeles’s nonprofit community and sits on the board of the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF). He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of Business and Trial Lawyers, the Century City Bar Association, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Concentrations
- Class action and unfair competition defense
- Entertainment and intellectual property litigation
- Complex commercial litigation
- Partnership and corporate disputes
- Real estate litigation
- Alternative dispute resolution
Capabilities
Experience
- Defended major automobile manufacturer in consumer fraud trials and other litigation.
- Represented major music label in federal court jury trial involving claims of copyright infringement and for violation of Lanham Act. After two-week trial, judge granted Rule 50 motion.
- Tried to jury and obtained full defense judgment for major motion picture studio on claims seeking many millions of dollars for alleged tortious interference with contracts.
- Tried Lanham Act case to verdict and obtained national product recall for brand distributor Brown Forman Corporation against Constellation Brands.
- Published opinion confirming that defendants not liable under California's unfair competition statute or under the Lanham Act for "reverse passing off" for failing to credit the alleged author and editor of a motion picture. Williams v. UMG Recordings, Inc., 281 F. Supp. 2d 1177 (C.D. Cal. 2003).
- Obtained precedent-setting decision in Federal Court in a test of liability for publication of third party material on the Internet under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The court ruled that the company was not liable for copyright infringement. Hendrickson v. EBay, Inc., etc., et al., 165 F.Supp.2d 1082 (2001).
- Complete defense award in arbitration for multinational manufacturer in arbitration brought by major customer seeking to avoid contractual purchase obligations.
- Multi-million arbitration award for claimant based on breach of obligations to allow claimant to fulfill multi-million dollar contract in China.
- Defended division of public company client in regulatory action against state of California, resulting in trial victory declaring the challenged state action "null and void" and "invalid."
- Defend publicly traded corporations in consumer class action and unfair competition litigations.
- Obtained dismissal at pleadings stage in putative national class actions filed against major motion picture studios.
- Obtained dismissal on pleadings of putative national class action alleged against live entertainment company.
- Defeated class certification for multiple clients in a variety of consumer fraud cases.
- Prevailed on motion to dismiss (no leave to amend) in Lanham Act case brought by rock band against major country music star and a televised shopping network.
- Represented major brands in trademark litigation matters.
- Defended corporate clients in complicated trade secret and unfair competition cases.
- Represented high-profile music songwriters, performers, producers and record labels in a variety of copyright, touring, record contract, right of publicity and other disputes.
- Represented owners, developers and sellers in various contractual disputes related to the purchase, sale and use of commercial real property.
- Prosecuted and defended sophisticated litigation arising in context of partnership and corporate dissolutions.
Recognition & Leadership
- Named, BTI Client Service All-Stars Report, "Client Service All-Star," 2020, 2023, 2024
- Listed, Benchmark Litigation
- "California Litigation Star," 2023-2025
- "Local Litigation Star," 2022-2024
- Listed, The Best Lawyers in America
- Commercial Litigation, 2010-2025
- Litigation-Intellectual Property, 2011-2025
- Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television, 2025
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States
- Dispute Resolution - General Commercial Disputes, 2015-2016, 2019-2024
- Media & Entertainment: Litigation, 2023
- Dispute Resolution - International Litigation, 2020-2021
- Listed, Lawdragon, "500 Leading Litigators in America," 2022-2025
- Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Southern California Super Lawyers, 2006, 2011-2024
- Listed, Thomson Reuters, "Stand-Out Lawyers," 2022-2024
- Listed, Acritas Stars™ Independently Rated Lawyers, "Star Lawyers," 2019-2021
- Selected, Los Angeles Business Journal, Leaders in Law, "Litigation Firm Attorney of the Year," 2018
- Listed, The Hollywood Reporter, "Top 100 Power Lawyers List," 2017
- Listed, Variety, "Legal Impact Report," 2015, 2019
- Featured, Los Angeles Business Journal, "Who's Who in L.A. Law," 2007
- Rated, AV Preeminent® 5.0 out of 5.0
- Board Member, Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF)
- Board Member, Public Counsel, Board of Directors
- Chair, State Bar of California, Litigation Section, Annual Symposium Committee
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, Association of Business and Trial Lawyers
- Member, Century City Bar Association
- Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Member, Volunteers in Parole (organization assisting youth in their transition from juvenile facilities back into the community)
Credentials
- J.D., cum laude, University of Michigan Law School, 1986
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B.A., Government, magna cum laude, Wesleyan University, 1983
- Member, Phi Beta Kappa
- California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California