Scott O'Connell

W. Scott O'Connell is a trial attorney and litigation strategist in Holland & Knight's Boston and New York City offices. Mr. O'Connell focuses his practice on complex commercial disputes involving significant financial and reputational exposure. He has considerable experience leading class action and aggregate litigation as well as parallel government enforcement and regulatory proceedings, most notably involving health service, financial service, energy, technology, telecommunications or manufacturing companies.

Mr. O'Connell has been lead counsel on more than 70 trials, arbitrations, evidentiary injunction proceedings and related appeals in federal and state courts around the country. He provides clients with customized and value-driven strategies for resolving cases on their terms.

In his class action, mass torts and aggregate litigation practice, Mr. O'Connell works closely with businesses to find and implement solutions that limit accruing exposure while also defending the case. He also has considerable experience counseling companies through crisis intervention, internal investigations and parallel proceedings.

In addition, Mr. O'Connell counsels health service providers with regard to reimbursements owed from Medicaid, Medicare and third-party payers. This work involves federal and state litigation as well as Administrative Procedures Act (APA) appeals. In addition, he represents individuals, business entities and political organizations in the defense of constitutionally protected rights and liberties.

Mr. O'Connell's experience includes representing academic medical providers, public universities and private for-profit education institutions in governance, internal investigations and commercial litigation. He has considerable experience defending class actions seeking discharge of private student loans connected to failed for-profit education institutions such as commercial flight schools and beauty academies. Mr. O'Connell is a term trustee of his alma mater, St. Lawrence University. In this role, he has served on the Executive Committee, Presidential Appraisal Committee, Audit Committee and Academic Affairs Committee. Mr. O'Connell is often called upon to assist with issues involving shared governance, board governance and institutional risk avoidance and management.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. O'Connell was chair of the litigation department for a global law firm, based in its Boston and Manchester, New Hampshire, offices.

Mr. O'Connell also maintains an active docket of pro bono cases specifically related to the prevention of domestic violence and providing needed access to justice.