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Morgan Lewis
Schutte

Scott T. Schutte

Partner

scott.schutte@morganlewis.com

Chicago Phone +1.312.324.1773 Fax +1.312.324.1001

110 North Wacker Drive//Chicago, IL 60606-1511//United States

Scott Schutte represents businesses and individuals in their most high-profile, high-exposure, and challenging disputes. Scott has tried more than a dozen cases and litigated hundreds of disputes in state and federal courts across the United States and before arbitration panels around the world. While his practice cuts across many industries, geographies, and subject matters, Scott has experience in representing both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation, defending companies in consumer class action litigation, and representing policyholders in insurance coverage disputes, in particular. Scott also has an active pro bono practice, including twice obtaining life-changing victories for men whose convictions were overturned through post-conviction petitions.

Scott is known for his ability to work with clients to develop and implement strategies that achieve their business goals, whether that means avoiding problems through pre-dispute counseling, aggressively litigating a case to a negotiated resolution, or trying a case to verdict. His efforts to provide 24/7 support to clients led to his being named a BTI Client Service All-Star in 2022.

Many of Scott’s cases involve the need to coordinate litigation strategy with a client’s public relations and governmental relations considerations. He also is adept at leading or working with teams of lawyers from different law firms on complex, multidimensional problems.

Scott is proud of his active pro bono practice. On two separate occasions, Scott has convinced judges and/or prosecutors that our clients’ convictions were tainted by illegally obtained confessions. In a 2007 landmark victory, Scott convinced a Chicago judge to vacate two murder convictions for a man who had served 24 years in prison, based on allegations that his confessions were the product of torture. And, in 2019, Scott led a team that convinced prosecutors not to oppose our client’s efforts to have his murder conviction vacated after spending almost 30 years in prison. Scott also was part of the team that successfully prosecuted a class action against the State of Missouri for its failure to adequately monitor the use of psychotropic medications on children in the Missouri foster care system, and he has represented defendants in death penalty cases in Illinois and Texas.

Scott also is involved in firm management. He has been the office managing partner of Morgan Lewis’s Chicago office since April 2011; he is a co-leader of the firm’s Class Action Working Group; and he has previously served as the deputy chair of the firm’s litigation practice and on the firm’s Advisory Board.

Selected Representations

Class/Mass Action Defense

  • Represented a property manager in a lawsuit claiming that a so-called “union only” rule for tenant construction and office moves violates federal labor law and RICO (class certification denied twice)
  • Represented the owners of a South Carolina paper mill in a consolidated class action alleging that the public was harmed by odors allegedly emanating from the mill
  • Represented an identity verification software provider in claims brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act
  • Represented a software company in a lawsuit involving software used by insurers in calculating the market value of total loss vehicles
  • Member of a team that represented a medical device manufacturer in hundreds of lawsuits seeking economic and personal injury damages arising out of a device recall
  • Defeated class certification in a lawsuit claiming the clients’ software used for valuing total loss vehicles was “statistically invalid”
  • Obtained summary judgment and defeated class certification on behalf of a life insurance company alleging improper assessment of annuity “surrender charges”
  • Defeated class certification on behalf of a software client alleged to have acted as an “insurance adjustor” under Texas law by providing software used to estimate the value of total loss vehicles
  • Acted as national coordinating counsel for an international retailer in more than 40 class actions claiming misrepresentations in the sale of herbal supplements
  • Successfully enforced an arbitration clause to defeat class action exposure for a global ecommerce marketplace provider
  • Obtained a dismissal of claims that the client engaged to decommission a nuclear power plant had overcharged for its services
  • Successfully enforced an arbitration clause to defeat class action exposure and class certification on behalf of a leading tax preparation provider involving claims that it failed to comply with the Truth in Lending Act
  • Represented a manufacturer of corrugated stainless steel tubing in a class action lawsuit and dozens of individual subrogation claims involving alleged product defects
  • Represented mortgage lenders in dozens of lawsuits alleging improper assessment of “payoff statement fees” and improper assessment of “force-placed insurance”
  • Defeated class certification on behalf of a leading tax preparation provider in claims that its warranty product was deceptive

Civil Litigation

  • Represented an investment advisor in a dispute regarding whether the client agreed to discretionary trading
  • Represented a hotel owner in a dispute with a lender over whether the springing recourse provision in a commercial loan was triggered
  • Represented an investment advisor in a dispute with departing employees over the theft of trade secrets
  • Represented Little League Baseball in a lawsuit by members of the Jackie Robinson West team alleging that Little League’s decision to revoke a national championship title led to emotional distress
  • Successfully represented a software manufacturer in a jury trial relating to licensing commissions
  • Represented a medical device manufacturer in claims that a design defect led to the plaintiff’s death
  • Represented a shoe manufacturer in a lawsuit alleging that an ESOP trustee’s abrupt resignation caused damages based on the inability to restructure a debt structure
  • Represented a utility in a lawsuit alleging breach of a wholesale power contract
  • Represented a food manufacturer in a civil forfeiture action
  • Represented a healthcare provider in defending the award of a government contract
  • Represented a lender in connection with a lawsuit alleging that the failure to fund a film loan caused $50 million in lost profit damages

Insurance Coverage

  • Represented a utility seeking insurance coverage for more than $1 billion in coal ash cleanup costs
  • Represented a manufacturer in a claim arising out of water damage during facility construction
  • Represented a grocery store owner in litigation over whether claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act are covered by various insurance policies
  • Represented a utility seeking more than $235 million under a first-party property policy for damage caused to a natural gas pipeline by an over-pressurization event
  • Lead trial counsel for a company prosecuting a bad-faith claim for failure to settle an asbestos claim within policy limits that led to a $32 million verdict
  • Represented a utility seeking insurance coverage associated with a dam collapse
  • Member of a trial team concerning insurance coverage for a railroad’s settlement of hundreds of FELA claims
  • Lead trial lawyer in a lawsuit involving insurance coverage for trade dress violation claims (settled just before closing arguments)
  • Member of an arbitration trial team in three arbitrations seeking reinsurance for payments by the insurer client under extended warranty programs

Awards and Affiliations

Recognized, Complex Litigation, including Class Action, Insurance Recovery, Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America (2022)

Client Service All-Star, BTI Consulting Group (2022)

Named, Modern Healthcare’s “Largest Healthcare Firm” (2016–2021)

Member, Practice Group of the Year, Insurance, Law360 (2020)

Director, Chicago Children's Museum

Member, Chicago-Kent Alumni Board of Advisors

Treasurer, Illinois State University Attorneys Advisory Board

Former Chair, Insurance Law Committee, Chicago Bar Association (2005–2006)

Former Member, Board of Advisors, DePaul University Center for Justice in Capital Cases (2004–2006)

Recognized, Future Star, Benchmark Litigation (2010–2011)

Recognized, Illinois Super Lawyer (2005–2011)

Recipient, 2005 Chicago-Kent Young Alumnae Award

Recommended, The Legal 500 US (2016)

Admissions

  • Illinois
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • US District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
  • US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
  • US District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • US District Court for the Western District of Michigan

Clerkships

  • Clerkship to Judge Milton Shadur of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1995 - 1996)

Education

  • Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1995, J.D.
  • Illinois State University, 1988, B.S.

Sectors

  • Energy
  • Financial Services
  • Retail & Ecommerce
  • Technology
  • Education

Services

  • Environmental Counseling & Litigation
  • Product Liability & Mass Torts
  • White Collar Litigation & Government Investigations
  • Privacy & Cybersecurity
  • Class Actions & Group Litigation
  • Corporate, Finance & Investment Management
  • Litigation, Regulation & Investigations
  • Crisis Management
  • Insurance Recovery

Regions

  • North America

Events

9/21/2021 - Class Action Roundtable: Cutting Edge Issues Around Mass Arbitration
1/28/2020 - Morgan Lewis 2020 Class Action Roundtable
6/18/2019 - 8th Annual Chicago Legal Market Briefing
4/22/2019 - Beats, Rhymes, and Law: The Quest for Creativity in Legal Advocacy
11/6/2018 - Morgan Lewis 2018 Class Action Roundtable
5/17/2016 - Perrin Conferences 2016 Class Action Litigation Conference
4/21/2015 - 11th Annual Retail Roundtables
10/7/2014 - Running the Gauntlet: Navigating Your Way through Overlapping Regulatory Investigations and Civil Litigation
3/20/2013 - Recent Developments in Limiting and Defending Class and Mass Action Claims
4/3/2012 - Recent Developments for Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers/FCMs Roundtable
12/1/2011 - AT&T v. Concepcion: A Look Back, and a Look Forward

News

12/5/2022 - Climbing to New Heights
10/3/2022 - Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, Lawdragon
4/15/2022 - A Two-Week Batch of Litigator of the Week Runners-Up and Shout Outs, Litigation Daily
2/8/2022 - BTI Consulting Names 7 Morgan Lewis Partners as 2022 ‘Client Service All-Stars’
5/4/2020 - Pro Bono Hot List: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, The National Law Journal
2/2/2020 - Morgan Lewis Helps Fuel Man's Murder Conviction Fight, Law360
8/18/2017 - Morgan Lewis Partners Author Chapter in American Bar Association Class Action Guide
10/25/2016 - 10th Circ. OKs Testimony On Bankruptcy In Royalty Case, Law360
1/25/2016 - Morgan Lewis Chicago: Winning Trial Team Gets Stronger With New Partners
1/8/2016 - 2015 Class Action Group Of The Year: Morgan Lewis, Law360
6/25/2013 - Attorneys React To High Court's Arbitration Ruling, Law360
1/10/2013 - Schutte Likes to Rise Before Sun: Energetic Morgan Lewis Leader Strives to Boost Firm Visibility in Chicago Area, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
1/7/2013 - Securities Group of the Year: Morgan Lewis, Law360
2/10/2012 - Law Schools Brace For Attacks On Employment Statistics, Law360
1/1/2012 - Consumer Protection Cases To Watch In 2012, Law360
2/1/2011 - Morgan Lewis Grows Class Actions Team with Litigators in Chicago

Publications

10/31/2022 - The EU Collective Action in Comparison with US Class Actions, JUVE
2021 - A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions, Third Edition
2022 - Collective Actions in the UK and EU One Year On – Has the Dam Burst Yet?, ICLG Class and Group Actions 2022
8/18/2020 - The Incoming EU Collective Redress Directive – What the US Experience Tells Us, Legal Week
6/9/2020 - Exonerated: The Story of Demond Weston
5/21/2020 - Colleges and Universities: Litigation Challenges and Risk Mitigation in the Face of COVID-19
5/18/2020 - Colleges & Universities Hit With Refund Class Actions While Struggling With COVID-19 Effects
12/21/2018 - A Few of Their Favorite Things
5/17/2016 - Supreme Court Issues Closely Watched Article III Standing Decision
1/22/2016 - US Supreme Court Hands Down Long-Awaited Decision in Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez
6/21/2013 - Supreme Court Again Enforces an Arbitration Agreement with a Class Action Waiver
4/15/2013 - 2013 Retail Industry Roundtable
3/20/2013 - Panelist, Recent Developments in Limiting and Defending Class and Mass Action Claims, presented for a dinner program sponsored by the Association of Corporate Counsel, Chicago Chapter and Morgan Lewis
Fall 2012 - Battle for Vindication of Statutory Rights Post-Concepcion, ABA’s Class Actions & Derivative Suits Newsletter
4/30/2012 - 2012 Retail Industry Roundtable
4/3/2012 - Co-presenter, Recent Developments for Investment Advisers and Broker-Dealers/FCMs Roundtable
10/5/2011 - Speaker, Practicing Law Institute's Managing Electronic Discovery and Other Current Discovery Issues at the Annual Federal Civil Practice Update Program
4/28/2011 - U.S. Supreme Court: FAA Preempts State Law Rule That a Class Action Waiver in a Consumer Arbitration Clause Is Unconscionable
2/28/2011 - Kwikset Lowers Pleading Standard on UCL Mislabeling Cases, But Effects on Class Certification in California Remain an Open Question, BNA's Product and Safety Reliability Reporter (also appeared in BNA's Class Action Litigation Report - 4/22/11)
2/1/2011 - California Supreme Court Further Clarifies Pleading Requirements for Standing Under the UCL in the Wake of Proposition 64