Scott Abeles

Scott Abeles is a seasoned trial lawyer and appellate advocate with a particular focus on high-stakes antitrust and class action matters. With deep experience in each stage of the litigation life cycle — and having handled appeals in almost every federal circuit and before the U.S. Supreme Court — he counsels clients from complaint to trial through appeal.

Scott has significant experience in all manner of antitrust actions, including monopolization, restraint of trade, price discrimination, and merger review. Among those cases, Scott successfully defended a major automaker in a high-profile antitrust trial brought under the rarely invoked Robinson-Patman Act, with the jury delivering a complete victory to his client after less than a day of deliberation.

Scott has also represented technology and media clients in complex commercial litigation, and Fortune and Global 500 companies in matters involving cutting-edge issues of competition, constitutional, and administrative law. His casework includes the development of the winning argument in a case deemed the “U.S. Patent Case of the Year” by a leading publication; service as lead counsel for a coalition of Middle Eastern professionals in a case given the Outstanding Achievement Award in Public Accommodations Law by a major civil rights organization; and the securing of the largest individual customer award by a FINRA arbitration panel in 2018.

Outside the courtroom, Scott has lectured and published frequently, serving as a member of the Law360 Competition editorial advisory board, authoring chapters of several antitrust treatises, and appearing in numerous publications. He has been selected for inclusion in Washington, D.C., Super Lawyers and, before that, named to the Rising Stars list on numerous occasions.

• Counsel to Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. in collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act; jury returned verdict in Southern Farm’s favor against all 12 plaintiffs. Ferguson v. Texas Farm Bureau.
• Counsel to former OfficeMax/Supervalu CEO in widely reported FINRA arbitration. Following three-week hearing, panel awarded client $8.7 million in compensatory and punitive damages, restitution, and legal fees. Duncan v. Wells Fargo Advisors.
• Counsel to Chrysler in $5 million price discrimination claim brought by a dealer; obtained a complete victory following a two-week jury trial. Mathew Enterprise Inc. v. Chrysler Group LLC.
• Counsel to Pernod Ricard in putative class action brought under the LIBERTAD Act (also known as the Helms-Burton Act); case dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Iglesias v. Pernod Ricard.
• Counsel to Verax in monopolization case against the leading seller of blood platelets in the nation. Verax Biomedical v. American Red Cross.
• Counsel to group of gasoline stations and convenience stores in challenge to anticompetitive restraints in the payment card market; case settled on favorable terms. CenturyLink Communications LLC v. Visa Inc.
• Counsel to Yacht Brokers Association of America in antitrust class action alleging unfair restraints in the market for yacht brokerage services. Ya Mon Expeditions LLC v. International Yacht Brokers Association.
• Counsel to Sanofi Pasteur in $1.5 billion nationwide antirust class action. Castro v. Sanofi Pasteur Inc.
• Counsel to Markit in nationwide class action alleging concerted refusal to deal. In re Credit Default Swaps Antitrust Litigation.

• Counsel to Justin Wolfe, a Virginia state prison inmate, in controversial, widely publicized case; Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed district court’s dismissal of petition for habeas corpus relief on grounds of “actual innocence,” clearing the way for disposition of his otherwise defaulted constitutional claims on the merits. Wolfe v. Dotson.
• Counsel to Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. in FLSA collective action; Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to Southern Farm. Yoder v. Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Co.
• Counsel to Transamerica in putative class action concerning provision of life insurance; D.C. Circuit affirmed grant of summary judgment to client. Dun v. Transamerica Premier Life Insurance Co.
• Lead counsel to Washington Gas in appeal challenging regulatory sanction. Drafted all briefs and argued successful appeal. Washington Gas Light Co. v. D.C. Public Service Commission.
• Counsel of record to Nobel Prize-winning economists as amici curiae before U.S. Supreme Court. Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA.
• Counsel to GSK in challenge to PTO rules. Federal Circuit affirmed holding that key rule challenged was unlawful; case named “Patent Case of the Year.” Tafas v. Dudas.

• Alexandria Commission for the Arts

• "Wading Through the 'Dense Undergrowth of Confusion' – What You Really Need to Know to Comply With the Robinson-Patman Act," Bloomberg BNA (2017)
• ABA Corporate Counseling Committee Monthly Antitrust Update (2016)
• Antitrust Insights Seminar 2016 (2016)