Scott B. Garner is a partner at Umberg Zipser LLP in Irvine, California. He represents clients in complex business litigation matters, with a particular focus on professional liability disputes and ethics counseling. He has represented large, mid-size, and small law firms, along with individual lawyers, in pre-litigation and litigation disputes concerning claims of legal malpractice, ethical violations, and securities fraud arising from their litigation, transactional, probate, and IP practices. He recently won a complete defense verdict in a legal malpractice jury trial. Scott also consults with clients on legal ethics issues, and has testified as an expert witness on ethics and standard of care issues. He also defends lawyers in State Bar disciplinary proceedings.

Scott also represents a wide array of public and non-public companies in a variety of matters, including contract disputes, intellectual property disputes, business torts, and securities litigation. Representing a plaintiff, he won a $47 million jury verdict in an interference with contract action, which was recognized as a top verdict of 2022.

Scott is active in Bar and community organizations. He was the 2020 OCBA President and the 2021 OCBA Charitable Fund President. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the OCBA Professionalism and Ethics Committee. From 2010-16, he was a member of the California State Bar’s Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct, serving as the Committee’s Chair in 2014-15. He currently is Vice President of the California Lawyers Association Ethics Committee. He is a Past President of the Orange County Chapter of the Association of Business Trial Lawyers.

Scott was recognized as a Top Professional Responsibility Lawyer by the Daily Journal in 2022-2023. He has been named a “Best Lawyer” since 2020 and a “Super Lawyer” since 2015.

Scott earned a JD cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991 and a B.A with distinction from Stanford University in 1988.

EDUCATION

Ø Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1991

Ø Stanford University, B.A., with distinction, 1988

BAR ADMISSIONS

Ø State Bar of California, 1991

Ø United States District Courts: Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California

Ø United States Supreme Court

Ø United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

PRACTICE AREAS

Ø Lawyer Liability

Ø Legal Ethics

Ø Complex Business Litigation