Scott D. Saldaña
Scott is a partner in the Austin office of Reid Collins & Tsai. He was the firm’s first summer associate and joined the team after his first year of law school. More than a decade later, Scott continues to represent plaintiffs in a broad array of cases involving complex commercial disputes, financial fraud, and cross-border issues. Scott regularly brings professional malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraudulent transfer claims on behalf of financial fraud victims against some of the largest institutions in the world.
Well recognized for his professional achievements, Scott has been named by Best Lawyers in America as among the “Ones to Watch” since 2021; honored as one the 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers in America and one of the 500 X / Next Generation of America’s Leading Lawyers by Lawdragon; and selected to the 40 & Under List by Benchmark Litigation since 2022.
Notable Representations:
- Representation of Sarah Bradley, the co-founder of private equity firm Kainos Capital LP, in a suit filed in Delaware Chancery Court against her company and three of its executives alleging fraud and violations of company operating agreements as part of a scheme to strip Ms. Bradley of her ownership rights. Obtained a settlement involving a $20 million payment by Kainos Capital to Ms. Bradley along with additional confidential settlement terms.
- Representation of Renren shareholders on claims brought in New York state court arising from a scheme by Renren insiders to wrongfully take the company’s billion-dollar investment portfolio for themselves. The $300 million settlement of the case approved in June 2022 was one of the largest cash settlements of a derivative action in history.
- Representation of the liquidators for two Bear Stearns feeder funds in a legal malpractice action against Reed Smith LLP, arising out of Reed Smith’s failure to meet the statute of limitations in a lawsuit it filed on behalf of the liquidators against the credit rating agencies, as well as its failure to advise and pursue, on a timely basis, hundreds of millions of dollars in residential mortgage-backed securities claims against Wall Street financial institutions. The case settled on confidential terms in November 2019
- Representation of Midas Green Technologies, an entity that provided hosting and network solutions for cryptocurrency miners, in an action seeking damages arising from a breach of a negotiated lease by commercial data center landlord Alpheus Communications. Obtained a multimillion-dollar judgment in November 2018 following a bench trial less than six months after the case was filed.
- Representation of relator in the largest financial fraud case ever brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia, involving claims against international banks related to the sale of RMBS to the Virginia Retirement System. The claims were resolved in a 2016 settlement in which $63 million was paid to the Commonwealth.
- Representation of Texas County and District Retirement System in connection with fraud claims brought in Austin state court against international banks related to the sale of RMBS to the public pension fund. Obtained remand of the case on an expedited basis prior to a ruling by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on a conditional transfer order that would have moved a significant portion of the case to an MDL proceeding in California. Following remand, the defendant banks agreed to confidential settlements.
- Representation of retail funds that were defrauded into investing in a $540 million syndicated real estate loan arranged by Credit Suisse. After a three-week jury trial, a Dallas jury found by clear and convincing evidence that Credit Suisse fraudulently induced the funds and awarded $40 million, a Top 50 verdict that year. After several rounds of appeals, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the jury’s fraud verdict, and the Dallas trial court entered a judgment against Credit Suisse.