Skip to Main Content
Overview

A seasoned deal lawyer and law practice innovator, SJ couples deep technical transactional and general corporate counsel experience with a commitment to continuous improvement and operational excellence in the delivery of legal services.

The first 20 years of SJ’s legal career, combined with his own entrepreneurial activities and passion for innovation, shaped him into a dynamic lawyer who serves as a trusted adviser to clients and a reliable source for colleagues.

SJ’s deep technical capabilities range from leading complex middle market M&A transactions; to leading corporate equity and debt finance and recapitalization transactions on a regular basis, including seed financing and venture capital transactions for emerging and growth stage companies; to advising closed-end private equity and venture capital funds on formation, corporate governance, exempted securities, and portfolio transaction matters.

SJ’s decades of experience “in the trenches” with private companies, entrepreneurs, and investors across numerous industries also enable him to help clients efficiently and effectively analyze, strategize, and resolve a variety of company management issues, including business structure and governance matters, contracts, and disputes. His early career experience with cross-border M&A and project finance transactions having a nexus between Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, when he often worked in the Spanish and Portuguese languages, also primed SJ to be able to navigate multi-jurisdictional matters, both inbound and outbound, effectively.

In short, SJ’s experience and modus operandi make him the quintessential primary outside counsel for clients, many of whom have no legal office—or only a very small in-house team—of their own. Clients appreciate SJ’s holistic approach to matters and his ability to assimilate and synthesize important business information quickly to provide practical and focused advice that fits their unique business needs.

Many of the clients SJ serves are focused on innovative technologies, products, services, and processes, especially in the artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain, renewables, aerospace and avionics, insurance, financial services, real estate, construction, consumer goods, food and beverage, and entertainment industries. This concentration complements SJ’s own interests and natural tendencies as a committed student of process improvement and change management in law practice, constantly scouting for new and better ways to serve clients and collaborate with colleagues.

Industry

Services

Education

  • J.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Law
    • magna cum laude
    • Order of the Coif
    • Law Review, Articles Editor
    • Certificate of Advanced Study in International & Comparative Law
  • M.P.I.A., University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public & International Affairs
    • U.S. Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellow
    • Certificate of Advanced Study on Latin America
  • B.A., Gannon University
    • magna cum laude

Admissions

  • Florida
  • District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • American Bar Association, M&A and Small Business/Middle Market Companies Committees, Technology in M&A Subcommittee
  • Florida Bar Association, Business Law Section
  • Law360, Technology Editorial Board
  • Cornell University, Change Management Certificate
  • Suffolk University (Boston) Law School, Legal Innovation and Technology Certificate
  • Legal Lean Sigma Institute®, Yellow Belt in Process Improvement/Project Management
  • Legal Lean Sigma Institute®, Leadership Course Certificate

Languages

  • Spanish, fluent
  • Portuguese, proficient


*Scott works remotely and is licensed in Florida, practicing in Cooper City. Contact Scott via email or phone for in-person/virtual meetings. Use the Washington, DC office address for mail/deliveries only.
Experience

M&A

  • $90MM sale of infrastructure services/construction company.
  • $50MM sale of B2B software technology company.
  • $250MM sale of home technology company.
  • $40MM distressed sale of consumer retail services national chain.
  • Multi-million-dollar purchase of patented hardware technology and related IP assets from multinational technology company.
  • $50MM purchase of consumer products manufacturing and distribution company.
  • $5MM purchase of consumer products wholesale distribution company.
  • $20MM sale of consumer B2B SaaS technology company.
  • Multi-million-dollar purchase of aerospace/aviation safety products company.

Venture Capital and Private Equity

  • $25MM Series A financing for SaaS and software technology industry client.
  • $7MM secured facility from venture capital lending group for technology industry client.
  • $6MM Series A financing for renewable energy/product manufacturing industry client.
  • Recapitalization and $3MM Series A financing for consumer products industry client.
  • $4.5MM seed and Series Seed financings for SaaS construction industry client.
  • $10MM Series B financing with multiple tranches for B2B technology industry client.
  • $2MM seed financing for wellness industry client.
  • $2MM Series Seed financing for mobile advertising industry client.
  • $7.5MM bridge financing and reverse merger for cryptocurrency industry investor client.
  • $30MM distressed real estate fund formation and securities counsel.
  • $250MM emerging technology venture capital fund formation and securities counsel.

Other Corporate Finance and Commercial

  • Multi-million commercial contract and licensing deal for cyber security industry client with multinational technology company.
  • $30MM commercial facility refinance transaction for advertising industry client.
  • $20MM commercial facility refinancing transaction for consumer products industry client.
  • $10MM commercial facility transaction for energy industry client.
  • $10MM DIP facility loan for cryptocurrency industry investor client.
  • $5MM joint venture for restaurant industry client.
  • $5MM bitcoin loan refinancing transaction for cryptocurrency industry family office client.
  • $4MM loan transaction for cryptocurrency industry family office client.
  • $2MM DIP facility loan for real estate industry investor client.
Outside the Office

A former award-winning and radio-charted independent recording and touring singer/songwriter, SJ still enjoys playing for friends and family and doing the occasional “gig”. He is a lifelong student of martial arts, which he does now as a family hobby with his wife and two sons. As a former NCAA college soccer player, SJ also enjoys coaching, watching, and playing the game with his sons.

Community Leadership
  • Legal Lean Sigma Institute®, Visiting Scholar & Instructor on Change Management
  • Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation, Advisory Council Member