Vanessa Scott

Vanessa Scott is a tax partner in the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice with 25 years of experience advising companies, private equity sponsors, and tax-exempt organizations on executive compensation and employee benefits matters. She advises clients on executive compensation, equity incentives, deferred compensation, retirement plans, and employee benefits strategies, helping organizations navigate complex tax and regulatory requirements while aligning their programs with organizational, talent, and transaction objectives.

Vanessa has extensive experience with Section 409A plan design and compliance, Section 83(b) elections and equity award taxation, and Section 280G golden parachute analysis. She also advises on qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plan compliance, COBRA, and DOL and ERISA reporting obligations.

Vanessa leads employee benefits and executive compensation workstreams in M&A transactions, including due diligence, SPA drafting, benefits continuation under transition services agreements, and post-closing integration across stock and asset purchase structures. She works closely with tax, consulting, and transaction advisory teams to address governance, integration planning, and workforce-related risk management.

Prior to joining the firm, Vanessa worked at a major law firm and a Fortune 100 company. She is also an adjunct professor of employee benefits in the Tax LLM Program at Georgetown University Law Center and is a frequent speaker for the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.