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Overview
Scott Carlton is a Partner in the Litigation Department of Paul Hastings and is a member of the Securities Litigation and Complex Litigation Groups. His diversified practice focuses on complex litigation, internal investigations, and appellate matters. Mr. Carlton has substantial experience representing and advising public and private companies and individual officers and directors in connection with the federal securities laws, state blue sky laws, and privacy law. These matters include government enforcement actions and investigations, shareholder derivative actions, class actions, and individual investor and consumer lawsuits.
Recognitions
- Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US) by International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) - 2021
- Named a Southern California Rising Star in 2015, 2016 and 2017 by Super Lawyers Magazine
- Public Counsel 2019 Pro Bono Award Recipient
- Recognized by The Daily Journal for obtaining one of California's top defense verdicts of 2014 in connection with the insider trading case against sTec, Inc.'s former Chairman and CEO
- Recognized by The Daily Journal for obtaining one of California's top defense verdicts of 2011 in connection with the federal securities class action against Homestore.com Inc.'s former Chairman and CEO
- Recipient of the American Immigration Lawyers Association's 2011 Jack Wasserman Memorial Award
- Former clerk for the Honorable Judge Ferdinand F. Fernandez of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California
Education
- University of San Diego School of Law, J.D., 2005 (magna cum laude, Order of the Coif)
- Yale University, B.A., 2001
Representations
- Represented former CEO of consumer technology company in insider trading case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission resulting in a complete judgment in favor of the defendant after a jury trial, which was recognized by The Daily Journal for obtaining one of California's top defense verdicts of 2014
- Represented Southern California biotechnology company and its directors and officers in a shareholder derivative action concerning the company's disclosure and compensation practices
- Represented real estate developer in connection with fraud and related tort claims brought in both individual actions and a class action on behalf of unit purchasers in a California high-rise development complex
- Represented engineering company in a shareholder derivative action alleging the Board approved excessive executive compensation, which was dismissed in the trial court and affirmed by the California Court of Appeal
- Represented foreign consumer electronics retailer against banking entities alleging fraud claims U.S. federal court, which were all successfully dismissed with prejudice at the pleading stage
- Represented Wall Street bank in connection with several class and individual securities actions arising out of the dislocation of the auction rate securities market
- Represented former CEO of realty company in federal securities class action jury trial resulting in judgment requiring the defendant to pay the plaintiff class nothing, which was recognized by The Daily Journal for obtaining one of California's top defense verdicts of 2011
- Represented former executive of major Las Vegas gaming company in securities class action filed in the District of Nevada where we successfully obtained summary judgment which was subsequently affirmed by the Ninth Circuit
- Represented emerging technology company in a contract and fraud dispute brought by founder attempting to rescind intellectual property rights assigned during the founding of the company
- Represented Jose Padilla in a victory before the U.S. Supreme Court resulting in securing newly recognized constitutional rights under the Sixth Amendment
- Represented major beverage company in an appeal before the Ninth Circuit resulting in a favorable decision holding that permit holders are not within the scope of "owners" for purposes of CERCLA liability
Engagement & Publications
- "Getting SPACs right: How to build investor trust while mitigating litigation risk" (April 2021)
- Director Liability Exposure, Host of Breakout Session for NACD (November 2020)
- Ruling Addresses "Corrective Disclosures" in Securities Suits, Daily Journal (October 2020)
- Ninth Circuit: CAFA Does Not Override the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act’s Requirement to Name 100 Plaintiffs, American Bar Association (August 2020)
- Derivative Suits 101: Tips for Successful Settlements, American Bar Association (January 2020)
- Class Actions 101: Six Tips for Approaching Class Action Settlements, American Bar Association (October 2019)
- ESG - From Talk to Walk, Keynote Address, #MeToo Movement and the Shareholder Derivative Action, hosted by RBC Global Asset Management & Bloomberg (October 2019)
- The D.C. Circuit Affirms Denial of Class Certification Because Antitrust Plaintiffs Failed to Offer Proof of Classwide Injury, American Bar Association (September 2019)
- The Ninth Circuit Fastens Some Guardrails to SLUSA’s "In Connection" Requirement, Law360 (July 2019)
- Contractual Ambiguity Does Not Provide a Sufficient Basis to Compel Class Arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act, American Bar Association (May 2019)
- Post-Bristol Myers: Personal Jurisdiction in Nationwide Class Actions Over Non-Resident Class Members Remains in Flux, American Bar Association (April 2019)
- The #MeToo Movement and the Shareholder Derivative Action, American Bar Association (April 2019)
- Ninth Circuit Lowers the Bar on Tender Offer Claims, Law360 (May 2018)
- Searching for Fraud on the Market, Daily Journal (March 2018)
- The U.S. Supreme Court Decides American Pipe Tolling Does Not Apply to Statutes of Repose, Paul Hastings Insights (June 2017)
- The Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument on Whether American Pipe Tolling Applies to Statutes of Repose, Paul Hastings Insights (May 2017)
- Ninth Circuit Affirms: SLUSA Does Not Provide Independent Basis for Federal Question Jurisdiction, Lexology (January 2017)
- Ninth Circuit Muddies Loss Causation, Law360 (February 2016)
- Ninth Circuit Clarifies Application of ‘Adverse Interest Exception’ in Securities Class Actions, Paul Hastings Insights (November 2015)
- California Derivative Plaintiffs Can't Dodge Delaware Law, Law360 (November 2014)
- California Court of Appeal Affirms: Early Discovery Will Not Be Permitted to Aid Derivative Plaintiff in Stating a Claim, Paul Hastings Insights (November 2014)
- The SEC Guidance on Cybersecurity Measures for Public Companies, Los Angeles Lawyer (September 2014)
- The "Fraud-on-the-Market" Presumption of Reliance Revisited: Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, Paul Hastings Insights (November 2013)
- Searching for an Efficient Market with CrossListed Securities: Denial of Class Certification in Deutsche Bank Illustrates Increased Scrutiny of the Fraud on the Market Doctrine, Paul Hastings Insights (October 2013)
- 2nd Circuit Declines to Extend American Pipe Tolling to Section 13 Statute of Repose, Westlaw Journal (October 2013)
- The "Fraud-on-the-Market" Presumption of Reliance Revisited: Supreme Court Declines to Require Proof of Materiality at Class Certification Stage, Paul Hastings Insights (May 2013)
- Ninth Circuit Strengthens Pleading Standard in Section 11 Claims: In re Century Aluminum Co. Securities Litigation, Paul Hastings Insights (January 2013)
- The "Fraud-on-the-Market" Presumption of Reliance Revisited: Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, Paul Hastings Insights (November 2013)
- U.S. Supreme Court Rejects a Broad Tolling Approach to the Statue of Limitations for Section 16(b) Claims, Paul Hastings Insights (March 2012)
- Second Circuit Provides Guidance on the Nature of Disclosures That Will Avoid Liability for Market Manipulation, Financial Fraud Law Report (December 2011)
- In Narrowly Tailored Opinion, Supreme Court Finds "Loss Causation" Not Required at Class Certification Stage, Paul Hastings Insights (June 2011)
- Supreme Court Rejects Bright Line Test of "Statistical Significance" for Materiality in Securities Claims, Paul Hastings Insights (March 2011)
- Supreme Relief, Daily Journal (February 2008)
Involvement
- Subcommittee Chair, Class Actions & Derivative Suits Committee (ABA Section of Litigation)
- Member of Los Angeles Alumni Board of University of San Diego School of Law
- Member of the State Bar of California, and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Southern District of New York, the Central District of California, the Southern District of California, and the District Court of Colorado