Scott Michael Leavitt

Technically, Scott Leavitt was not "my" attorney, as I represented a client on the other side of the "v." But I believe my position as opposing counsel provides a perspective just as useful, if not more so, than that of a client. I found myself initially frustrated with Scott’s sterling represent...ation of his client, but that frustration ultimately transformed into a respect for his skill as a litigator and his approach to litigation. Though it has not happened often in my nearly 20 years of practice, over the course of the case, it became clear that Scott was an attorney I would recommend to others, including my own clients should a conflict keep me from handling a matter. I think the most telling recommendation is my certainty that if I needed a litigator to handle a matter for a non-legal business I also own, Scott would be the first I would contact. Scott is truly a litigator's litigator -- it's that simple. His mastery of the critically important aspects of litigation -- which I believe to be documents and depositions -- is pitch-perfect. I had a front row seat observing Scott's ability to handle adverse witnesses at the numerous depositions held in our matter. More often than not, his "conversational approach" put the witness at ease and resulted in Scott getting the information he needed without much resistance (ergo my frustration). And in those instances where the witness tried to be difficult, Scott's tenacity with every question eventually led to an answer – and it was generally the one he sought. In our case, I was often in awe of his ability to steer a witness back to his targeted area of inquiry, regardless of the witness's intent on rambling down irrelevant paths of useless information. In my experience, Scott's command of the deposition is nearly unrivaled. Scott's approach to the written aspects of litigation is equally impressive. He understands that written communications with opposing counsel serve a dual purpose as those same writings will likely be put before the court in support of, or opposition to, any number of motions. Any time he put pen to paper, he wrote to counsel with the court as his other audience. In doing so, his motions, like his correspondence, focused on the issue at hand, and he exhibited little interest in the grandstanding that is ultimately off-putting to most courts. Throughout the course of our case, it also became clear that Scott is an amazing leader, supervising and working with a number of associates who had the good fortune of having Scott as their mentor. His team was incredibly focused and dedicated to the client and to Scott, which suggests Scott’s approach to his team is as on-target as his approach to the case at hand. But it takes more than excellent litigation skills and a good team to make an attorney a great counselor. All too often, individuals skilled in litigation lose their effectiveness because they fail to factor in the business aspects of a case. But Scott brings what I can only describe as a keen insight of business into his litigation style. He simply refuses to get lost in the forest of litigation and lose sight of the trees of business. In our case, his detailed understanding of his client's business (and that of the other parties involved in the matter) ultimately led him to recognize the merits in my client's case against the other defendants, while continuing to pursue and secure his client's vindication. If it is not clear yet, I will put it simply – Scott Leavitt is an amazing attorney with a set of skills and an approach to litigation that would enormously benefit any prospective client.

I was going through a horrible time in my life, needed a temporary restraining order and had no idea where to go. I was referred to Scott by a friend and am so grateful that I had him in my corner! He really took the time to explain everything that was going on and returned all of my emails and call...s in a timely manner. I would definitely return to Scott should I need legal advice again.