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R. Craig Scott

R. Craig Scott
Practice Specialties

Executive Employment Agreements

A sophisticated employer wants its relationship with each senior executive unambiguously defined, all contingencies provided for, and the course to be followed at separation made clear. A carefully-crafted employment agreement is the answer. An employer’s relationships with its executives are necessarily different from its relationships with assembly workers. At-will statements in employment applications, and policies in the company’s employee handbook, are all the employer may need to regulate its dealings with hundreds of rank and file employees. But, with each executive, the employer needs to craft a unique agreement that reflects the parties’ negotiations over the term of employment, exclusivity of services, duties and responsibilities, compensation and benefits, termination and severance, change of control, restrictive covenants and dispute resolution. Mr. Scott has drafted, or reviewed and commented on, hundreds of executive employment agreements, and is uniquely qualified to counsel employers on all of the considerations that go into creating a solid employment contract.

Executive Separation Packages

Employers must comply with state and federal laws, as well as with any contractual obligations (such as severance) they may have undertaken, when preparing separation packages for departing executives. One size does not fit all. Unwary employers may fall into any number of drafting traps that would compromise the validity of the releases executives sign. Without Mr. Scott’s experience, that comes from having prepared and reviewed thousands of separation agreements, employers’ self-created documents often omit provisions that could protect their going-forward interests. These include well-crafted confidentiality, non-disparagement, cooperation in future legal matters, and arbitration provisions.

Bet-The-Company Workplace Litigation

Potential damages, in some employment litigation, are of such magnitude that the employer’s very survival is on the line. In these cases, Mr. Scott is called upon to do more than just skillfully defend against the litigation, and boldly assert creative defenses. He often must persuade opposing counsel not to press the full value of their case, but to accept a very significant discount on their claims, so that the business survives to pay something in settlement to its employees and former employees.

Two examples:

Represented a very large medical practice charged by the State of California with a wide variety of wage and hour violations. Audited time records put the liability at over 5 times the practice’s annual income. The filing of a class action, brought to recover the same wages and penalties sought by the State, complicated resolution efforts. Mr. Scott devised a successful strategy of “picking off” members of the uncertified class, compromising the claims of almost all former and current employees, one release at a time. Obtaining the concurrence of the State’s attorney with this strategy, and getting claimants to accept payments of claims at a small fraction of their potential worth, were among the most challenging aspects of saving the practice from financial ruin.

Represented a chain of salons charged with misclassifying workers as independent contractors. State auditors from the Employment Development Department assessed very large sums in unpaid taxes; the State Labor Commissioner issued citations for failure to comply with employee-protective Labor Code provisions. Had the client been required to pay the assessed taxes, fines, penalties and interest, it would have had no choice but to shut down its entire business. Mr. Scott put on compelling cases for 37 salons, achieving rulings that all of the chain’s cosmetologists were independent contractors. Mr. Scott then held on to those administrative hearing victories in two rounds of appeals.

Sensitive Investigations

Public agencies have turned to Mr. Scott to conduct their most sensitive workplace investigations. With four years experience as the mayor of a Southern California city, and nineteen years as a member of a city council, Mr. Scott understands the workings of government and does not need to be "brought up to speed." Among others, Mr. Scott has conducted investigations and made findings and recommendations in these situations:

For a city in Southern California, investigated over a dozen charges of wrongdoing by the municipality's police chief. The investigation led to the chief's termination.

For one Orange County city, investigated the questionable conduct of an elected city council member and for another, investigated an appointed city commissioner's possible sexual harassment of a staff member.

For a city in Los Angeles County, conducted an extensive investigation into circumstances leading to termination of the city manager.

Private employers are obligated to investigate when employees come forward with allegations of wrongful conduct. Sometimes Mr. Scott acts as the investigator, at other times he hires an investigator, and serves his employer clients in his role as advisor and legal counsel.

Illustrative of his private sector investigations are these:

For a nation-wide insurance company, investigated employees' taking kickbacks from contractors. The investigation resulted in employee terminations and in policy changes.

For a savings and loan, investigated the President's allegations that she was sexually harassed by a Board Member. Mr. Scott determined that the false allegations were made in an attempt to divert attention from the complaining party's incompetent job performance.

For a charitable foundation, where investigators found hundreds of thousands of dollars embezzled, laid out management's road map to separate the offending executive and complicit staff members -- without upsetting the sensitive donor and volunteer base.

For a large health care practice, commissioned the investigation, selected the investigator, evaluated the results and directed additional investigative efforts. With conclusive investigative results, recommended various forms of discipline and individualized retraining for two female nurses who created a sexually hostile work environment, and for the male doctor who did not welcome his subordinates' conduct, but who also was not sufficiently assertive in stopping it.

Public Sector Representation

Employment Litigation
When handling employment litigation involving people or institutions in the public eye, the lead lawyer often plays the roles of white knight, public spokesperson, spinmeister, psychologist and counselor, political prognosticator and battle-plan tactician.

With the skills and experience to perform admirably in all of those functions, Mr. Scott has handled some of Southern California's highest profile public sector disputes.

These are just two examples:

Represented the City of Newport Beach, California in a hotly-litigated sexual harassment and sex discrimination case brought by 14 female police officers and other city employees. The case involved almost daily news coverage and 48 Hours put its spotlight on the litigation. Mr. Scott skirted a death threat from a relative of one of the plaintiffs and brought the case to a very successful settlement.

Represented the city manager of an Orange County, California city who was first placed on administrative leave and then terminated by the city council. Scott & Whitehead won a court-ordered reversal of the termination and then defended the city manager against the city's lawsuit charging him with self-dealing and mismanagement. Mr. Scott, himself a mayor and long-time city council member in another city, was both attorney and public spokesperson for the city manager. Local newspapers and the County's two dailies gave frequent coverage to the city council meetings and the courtrooms where the disputes played out. Mr. Scott negotiated a substantial settlement payment from the city to the firm's client. This closely-watched case resulted in state-wide reforms in how public administrators receive and account for job-related benefits, administer compensation and benefits for subordinates, and apprise publicly-elected officials of their decisions and conduct.

Sensitive Investigations
Public agencies have turned to Mr. Scott to conduct their most sensitive workplace investigations. Having served four terms as the mayor of a Southern California city, and nineteen years as a member of a city council, Mr. Scott understands the workings of government and does not need to be "brought up to speed." Among others, Mr. Scott has conducted investigations and made findings and recommendations in these situations:

For a city in Southern California, investigated over a dozen charges of wrongdoing by the municipality's police chief. The investigation led to the chief's termination.

For one Orange County city, investigated the questionable conduct of an elected city council member and for another, investigated an appointed city commissioner's possible sexual harassment of a staff member.

For a city in Los Angeles County, conducted an extensive investigation into circumstances leading to termination of the city manager.