Biography
Scott is the leader of Jackson Walker’s institutional investor practice, where he leads a team of lawyers experienced in representing institutional investors around the world with respect to alternative assets investments (e.g., “private markets” strategies such as private equity funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds and credit funds as well as “public markets” strategies such as hedge funds, long-only funds, collective investment trusts, and separately managed accounts). Representative clients include: public and private pension plans, university and research endowments, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, corporate investment divisions, funds of funds and family offices.
One of Scott’s key focus areas is in bespoke investment arrangements, which can take the form of separately managed accounts, funds of one, master custody agreements, and strategic partnerships. These arrangements typically involve a high degree of customization, including bespoke investment guidelines and restrictions, changes to the standard of care, non-standard expense reimbursement, and highly customized management and incentive fee models. One of Scott’s favorite things to do is to work with clients to develop new incentive fee structures, including building and testing the fee models, because, in Scott’s words, “one cannot draft a fee schedule if one does not understand the math, and the best way to understand the math is to build the model.”
Education
B.A., magna cum laude, Tulane University
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
Bar Admissions
Wisconsin, 1999
Texas, 2006
Court Admissions
United States Eastern District of Wisconsin
Scott recently assisted a public pension plan set up two separate $1 billion credit-focused, strategic partnership funds with highly customized fee structures. This work followed Scott’s prior work setting up a pair of $3 billion multi-asset class, strategic partnerships for this same investor with two of the world’s largest private equity fund managers.
Investments in alternative asset classes, including:
- Hedge and long-only funds
- Private equity funds
- Credit funds (both private equity and hedge fund style)
- Venture capital funds
- Commodities funds
- Reinsurance funds
- Custom funds of one
- Separately managed accounts
- Hedge and private equity funds of funds
- Emerging manager platforms
- Emerging markets investments
- Strategic, multi-asset class funds
In addition to Scott’s focus on alternative investments, Scott has assisted clients with mergers & acquisitions, bank regulatory matters, bank finance agreements, software licensing agreements, non-compete agreements, and other general corporate matters.
- Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
- Ranked for Investment Funds: Investor Representation (USA – Nationwide), 2022
Speaking Engagements
- Panelist, “Alignment of Interests: Fine Tuning Fairer Outcomes for All,” Talking Hedge (November 2018)
- Moderator, “Good Governance in Fees and Expenses,” Texas Alternative Investments Association (October 2018)
- Quarterly Round Table Meetings, Alignment of Interest Association
- “Private Equity and Hedge Funds,” Committee on Investment of Employee Benefit Assets (April 2017)
- “LP Terms and Conditions – Being Creative and Providing Win/Win Opportunities,” The Private Investment Fund Operations and Compliance Forum (August 2016)
- “Collective Investment Trusts,” National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (June 2015)
- “Hedge Fund Terms: Alignment of Interests,” American Bar Association Institutional Investor Committee (April 2015)
- “Alignment of Interests Between Managers and Investors,” Texas Hedge Fund Association (March 2015)
- “Building a Better Partnership,” Texas Hedge Fund Conference (February 2014)
Publications
- “Increasing Manager-Investor Alignment Through the Use of Stock Options or Stock Appreciation Rights in Lieu of Performance Fees,” Alignment of Interest Association, White Paper No. 2 (2016)
- “AOI Hedge Fund Investing Principles” (2014)
- “The ‘Silo’ Treatment Problem,” Alignment of Interests Association White Paper No. 1 (2015)
- “The Role of the CPA in an M&A Transaction: A Lawyer’s Perspective,” The Practicing CPA (2007)
- “Purchase Agreements: How One Common Flaw Can Cost You Big Money!” Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance (2007)
- “Personal Goodwill – A Win-Win for Accountants and Their Clients,” CPA Expert (2005)
- “RESPA Investigations on the Rise, Are You In Compliance?” Spotlight – Credit Union Law (2005)
- “Clarity Restored, Dragnet Clauses Upheld,” 23 Business Law News 2 (2004)
- Alignment of Interests Association (AOI)
- Texas Hedge Fund Conference, Panelist
- Texas Hedge Fund Association, Events Committee
- National Association of Public Pension Plan Attorneys (NAPPA)
- American Bar Association – Business Law Section, Institutional Investor Subcommittee
- Panelist, 2014