Scott Nielson

Scott represents high-net-worth individuals, political leaders, corporations, and sovereigns in complex cross-border matters. A fluent Spanish and Portuguese speaker, he advises clients in Latin America and globally on investigations, litigation, asset forfeiture, and asset recovery cases involving allegations of corruption, money laundering, and fraud. 

Scott also has experience working on cases involving arbitration, enforcement of judgments and arbitration awards, enforcement defense, extradition, political asylum, Interpol, and Section 1782 discovery applications, linked to Latin America and other jurisdictions. He frequently supervises global teams, overseeing the work of foreign lawyers, investigators, and communications advisors. He is particularly skilled at navigating complex bureaucracies and is often involved in resolving challenging issues for clients.

Before joining Boies Schiller Flexner, Scott practiced for six years in the São Paulo offices of two different global law firms.

Scott’s representations have included:

• Numerous clients seeking discovery in the U.S. under Section 1782 for use in Brazil, Switzerland, and other jurisdictions
• A Brazilian high-net-worth family in cross-border litigation to recover misappropriated estate assets
• A Brazilian conglomerate in counteracting a hostile takeover attempt made by a U.S. investor
• A U.S. sports league in enforcing an arbitration award against a recalcitrant debtor in Latin America
• A bankruptcy trustee arising from a Ponzi scheme involving billions in investments, as special counsel for international asset recovery
• An international law firm in challenging a subpoena served for discovery in aid of foreign proceedings under Section 1782
• Numerous clients from countries including Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina in investigations by authorities in the U.S. and Europe involving fraud, bribery, and money laundering
• The family of a Venezuelan high-net-worth individual in asset forfeiture actions brought by U.S. and Swiss governments

Co-author, Debanking Reforms Signal a Turning Point in Consumer Rights, FT Adviser (June 2025)

Moderator, Asset Recovery For Fraud Victims: Pursuing Assets Beyond Brazil, Kobre & Kim and New York State Bar Association International Section, São Paulo (December 2022)

Guest lecturer, Best Practices for Cross-Border Investigations and Asset Recovery, IBCCRIM Brazilian Institute for Criminal Sciences (September 2022)

Co-author, Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Brazil, Lexology (2022)

Co-author, Suprema Corte dos EUA altera produção de provas internacionais, inclusive no Brasil [U.S. Supreme Court alters international discovery, including in Brazil], Consultor Juridico (August 2022)

Co-author, Deploying U.S. Discovery In Brazil Following High Court Ruling, Law360 (June 2022)

Co-author, The Engel List Foreshadows U.S. Enforcement in Central America, The Anti-Corruption Report (December 2021)

Guest lecturer, Cross-Border Anti-Corruption Investigations, Masters Course in Infrastructure and Regulation, Getulio Vargas Foundation “FGV” of Rio de Janeiro (July 2021)

Guest lecturer, Working with Cross-Border Investigations and Litigation, Legal Lecture Series Pre-Law Course, Brigham Young University (February 2021)

Co-author, Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Brazil, Lexology (June 2020 issue)

Co-author, US Courts Address Recognition of Venezuelan Government in Arbitration Enforcement Proceedings, Corporate Disputes Magazine (January-March 2020 issue)

Guest Lecturer, International Anti-Corruption Legislation, Masters Course in Compliance, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (October 2019)