Scott A. Shaffer

Scott A. Shaffer focuses his litigation practice in the areas of advertising, direct marketing, class action defense, and sports and entertainment law.

A significant portion of Scott's practice is devoted to protecting his clients’ intellectual property rights, and to that end he has litigated class action cases, Federal Trade Commission and Attorney General actions, and general contractual disputes. Scott also has worked extensively with Olshan’s direct marketing clients to ensure compliance with the myriad complex laws that regulate solicitation of consumers via telephone and email.

Scott has an impressive record defending consumer class action lawsuits and other mass litigations, including successfully obtaining dismissals at the pleading stage, negotiating favorable settlements, and setting legal precedent. He has defended consumer class action suits in federal and state court alleging a wide range of legal theories, including false advertising, “cramming” and other unauthorized charges, and telemarketing violations.

Sports Law

Scott is prominently involved in sports and entertainment law, particularly in the sport of boxing. In that arena, he represents boxing promoters, managers, individual boxers, and boxing-related entertainment and media businesses in New York, New Jersey, and nationwide. Scott's current and former clients include major fight promoters, such as Sauerland Events, Gary Shaw Productions, and DiBella Entertainment, and world champions Ricky Hatton, Cory Spinks, John Ruiz, and Kermit Cintron. On behalf of his clients, he has negotiated broadcasting and license deals with networks such as HBO, Showtime, and ESPN.

Long before he became a boxing lawyer, boxing was an integral part of Scott’s life. He was a sportswriter for years, covering boxing for The Ring magazine and serving as an officer of the Boxing Writers' Association of America. Perhaps no other lawyer in the U.S. has the depth of knowledge, experience, and familiarity that Scott brings to the boxing industry.

Prior to joining Olshan, Scott was a partner at The Lustigman Firm.

Professional & Community Affiliations

New York State Bar Association

New Jersey Bar Association

Association of the Bar of the City of New York (Sports Law Committee)

• Obtained full dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Verizon seeking tens of millions of dollars under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (published decisions: 2012 WL 1638056, 2010 WL 3946713).
• Granted summary judgment in New Jersey Superior Court dismissing class action lawsuit alleging false advertising under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act.
• Obtained dismissal from RICO lawsuit on behalf of world champion boxer in Southern District of New York.
• Represented former heavyweight champion sued in United States District Court by his former manager and trainer for allegedly unpaid fees exceeding $3 million. Case settled prior to trial without any payment from boxer.
• Represented the owner of the trademark “Santo Gold” in a lawsuit against award-winning singer/songwriter Santi White, then performing under same name.  Lawsuit resulted in junior user ceasing the use of the mark and changing her performing name, and her record labels discontinuing the distribution of the allegedly infringing product.
• Represented European boxing promoters in negotiating groundbreaking eighteen-month boxing tournament among six of the world’s top boxers. Tournament involved six promoters, six boxers and two world sanction organizations and required the creation of a scoring system and tournament rules and tie-breaking procedures. Successfully completed contract covering worldwide broadcast rights among several international networks and harmonizing the rules of local boxing commissions, including testing for performance-enhancing drugs.

Press Releases