OVERVIEW
Scott Gilmore, partner at Hausfeld, is an accomplished international lawyer who represents plaintiffs in complex cases involving human rights, environmental justice, terrorism, whistleblowers, and gross corporate misconduct. Recognized as a “Lawyer of the Week” by The Times of London, Scott was named to Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Law Lawyers (2021) and 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers (2020). Scott also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. He is fluent in French.
Working towards a diverse, equitable, and inclusive world is paramount to Scott who is an active member of our Racial Justice working group.
Clients
Scott has represented an array of clients from around the world, including the heirs of war correspondent Marie Colvin, who was assassinated in Syria; Darfur genocide survivors; indigenous peoples threatened by climate change; families recovering Nazi-confiscated artworks; and whistleblowers exposing global corporate fraud.
EDUCATION
George Washington University Law School, J.D., high honors, Order of the Coif, 2012
McGill University, B.A., with distinction, 2001
BAR ADMISSIONS
California
District of Columbia
Central District of California
Northern District of California
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
AFFILIATIONS
American Bar Association, Member
Associate, George Washington Law Review
WHAT OTHERS SAY
Financial Times
- Scott’s work holding the Syrian government accountable for the killing of famed war correspondent Marie Colvin was hailed as “highly commended” at Financial Times Innovative Lawyers Awards in 2018.
Lawdragon
- 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers since 2020
- The Green 500: Leaders in Environmental Law since 2021
- 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyer in 2021
- 500 Leading Litigators in America in 2022
- 500 Leading Global Litigators since 2023
- 500 Global Plaintiff Lawyers in 2024
The Times of London
PUBLICATIONS
Publications:
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- "United Nations Security Council Resolution 2379," American Society of International Law, 57 International Legal Materials 960 (2018), Author
- "Sanction and Socialize: Military Command Responsibility and Corporate Accountability for Atrocities," in Corporate Social Responsibility? Human Rights in the New Global Economy, University of Chicago Press (Aug. 2015), Author
- "Suing the Surveillance States: The (Cyber) Tort Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act," 46 Columbia Human Rights Law Review 227 (2015), Author
- Note "Immunity Disorders: The Conflict of Foreign Official Immunity and Human Rights Litigation," 80 George Washington Law Review 918 (2012), Author
- "Darius Rejali's Torture and Democracy," 35 Social Justice 143 (2009), Author
- "Jazz: The Smithsonian," Anthology Smithsonian Folkways (2011), Liner note contributor
- "The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe," Yale Univ. Press (2008), Researcher
Press:
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- "Young climate activists vow to keep fighting despite UN setback," The Guardian (Oct. 20, 2021)
- "Kids Versus the Climate Crisis," Living on Earth (Sept. 27, 2019)
- "Sri Lankans Accuse Him of War Crimes. California May Decide," New York Times (April 19, 2019)
- "Syria Ordered to Pay $302.5 Million to Family of Marie Colvin" New York Times (Jan. 31, 2019)
- "With Syria’s War Nearly Over, Victims Take the Battle to European Courts," NPR: Morning Edition with Deb Amos (Aug. 13, 2018)
- "Target Journalist: How the Assad Regime Tracked and Killed Marie Colvin for Reporting on War Crimes in Syria," The Intercept (April 9, 2018)
- "Haiti’s Violent Politics Are Taken to Court. In Boston." New York Times (April 1, 2017)
- "Amanpour: Assad regime deliberately targeted journalist Marie Colvin, sister says" (July 9, 2016)
EVENTS
- "Civil Litigation as a Tool for Human Rights Accountability for Iran," Atlantic Council (Dec. 15, 2020), Panelist
- "The Role and Impact of Litigation and Other Legal Processes on Accountability in the Cyber Security and Spyware Market,” Citizen Lab Workshop on Transparency and Accountability in the Spyware and Cybersecurity Industry Through Litigation, Regulation, and International Frameworks (Sept. 16, 2019), Speaker
- "Daesh’s Attack on Iraq’s Yazidi Community," United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in collaboration with the German and Iraqi Permanent Missions to the UN (Dec. 19, 2017), Speaker
- "International Criminal Justice: Achievements and Challenges in Syria and Beyond," UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (July 17, 2017), Panelist
- "Digital Rights, Digital Repression: The Dual Roles of Technology in Human Rights," Google Conference, (Oct. 19, 2016), Speaker
- "Corporate Social Responsibility and International Justice," American Society for Legal History Conference (Oct. 30, 2015), Presenter
- "70 Years After Nuremberg: New Challenges for International Justice," U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Oct. 21, 2015), Speaker
- "Accountability in Sri Lanka," U.S. Senate Human Rights Caucus (Sept. 15, 2015), Panelist
- "All Tomorrow’s Massacres: Toward a Cybersecurity Framework for Mass Atrocity Crimes,"American Society of International Law Mid-Year Meeting, (Oct. 21, 2012), Presenter
EXPERIENCE
Environmental & Product Liability
- Children v. the Climate Crisis: Chiara Sacchi et al. v. Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey – In which Hausfeld and co-counsel Earthjustice represent 16 children from around the world, including Greta Thunberg and Alexandria Villaseñor, in a complaint filed before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child alleging violations of children’s rights to life, health, and culture by five members of the G20 whose failure to reduce carbon emissions is perpetuating climate change.
Human Rights
- Padre et al. v. MVM - Hausfeld represents families that were unlawfully separated pursuant to the unconstitutional family separation policy implemented during the first Trump administration. The defendant in this class action lawsuit is MVM, Inc., the private security contractor that transported thousands of migrant children away from their parents. The plaintiffs bring human rights claims for enforced disappearance, torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment under the Alien Tort Statute, among other claims.
- Colvin v. Syrian Arab Republic – In which Scott, as lead counsel, won a $303.6 million judgment against the Syrian government on behalf of the family of Marie Colvin, a war correspondent for the Sunday Times who was tracked, targeted, and killed in 2012 by Syrian government forces.
- Samathanam v. Rajapaksa – In which Hausfeld represents a group of Sri Lankan torture survivors under the Torture Victim Protection Act who allege they were subjected to years of arbitrary detention and abuse in Sri Lanka under the authority of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the time a U.S. citizen and Defense Secretary of the island nation.
