scott.wenzel@wilsonelser.com

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Scott Wenzel has extensive experience representing businesses and individuals in all aspects of commercial litigation and provides accountants with efficient, business-minded counsel. He leverages his experience to effectively handle commercial disputes to obtain favorable outcomes for his clients.

Before joining Wilson Elser, Scott spent four years at a boutique litigation firm, successfully prosecuting and defending commercial disputes on behalf of individuals, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also worked in the bank finance group of an international law firm and clerked for the Honorable Debra M. Brown of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.

Before attending law school, Scott was an elite international cyclist and a high school English teacher.

    Education

    • Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University (J.D., summa cum laude, 2017)
      • Managing Editor, Pace Environmental Law Review
    • University of Northern Colorado (B.S., 2005)

    Bar Admissions

    • New York
    • New Jersey

    Court Admissions

    • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
    • U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
    • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
    • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

    Clerkships

    The Honorable Debra M. Brown, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Mississippi

    Awards & Honors

    • New York Metro Super Lawyers: Rising Star – Business Litigation, Civil Litigation: Defense, 2023–2025
    • Elisabeth Haub School of Law: Shining Star Award, 2024

Scott Wenzel

White Plains Team Secures Jury Verdict in Breach of Contract Action

Peter J. Larkin (Partner-White Plains, NY), cochair of Wilson Elser’s Accountants Practice, along with Scott Wenzel (Of Counsel-White Plains, NY) and Rebekah K. Salas Mercer (Associate-White Plains, NY), secured a defense verdict in the Commercial Division of New York Supreme Court, New York County, for Wilson Elser’s client in a breach of contract dispute concerning the ownership and sale of a limited liability company established in 2007.
 
The defendant alleged, among other things, that an amendment to the company’s operating agreement, which transferred a 5% stake in the company to our client, was null and void, so the plaintiff was entitled to an additional 5% of the proceeds from the $26.5 million sale of the company in 2020. 
 
During the plaintiff’s cross-examination, Peter Larkin highlighted to the jury the plaintiff’s shifting and conflicting account of when the amended operating agreement was signed by the parties and extracted several admissions from the plaintiff that his conduct in the years leading up to the lawsuit was inconsistent with his claim that he had not sold our client 5% of the company.
 
The trial team then successfully argued several issues in connection with the jury charge and landed a defense friendly verdict sheet, requiring the jury to answer over twenty questions, the majority of which were focused on our client’s affirmative defenses of estoppel and unclean hands. 
 
After a week-long trial, the jury returned a complete defense verdict in less than two hours, finding that our client did not breach any contract, and that even if he had, our client’s affirmative defenses barred the plaintiff from any recovery. In addition, the jury awarded our client damages for his own breach of contract counterclaims.

Peter J. Larkin, Scott Wenzel and Rebekah K. Salas Mercer