Scott Nehrbass is a problem solver and trial lawyer, with more than 25 years of experience handling a wide variety of civil litigation matters for corporate and individual clients.
Scott’s general civil litigation practice includes class actions and arbitrations. It covers many areas: noncompetes, trade secrets, healthcare, ERISA and employment, franchisor-franchisee, real estate and construction, landlord-tenant, business owner conflicts, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and other complex business and commercial disputes. He also defends personal injury and product liability cases.
Scott enjoys Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory’s highest “AV” rating for lawyers. Chambers USA recently identified him as a leading lawyer in the United States in the area of “Litigation: General Commercial.” Scott’s peers have selected him for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers®. Best Lawyers® and named him 2016 Kansas City, KS Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants “Lawyer of the Year;” 2013, 2017, and 2020 Kansas City, KS Litigation – Intellectual Property “Lawyer of the Year;” and 2025 Kansas City, KS Litigation - Real Estate "Lawyer of the Year."
Scott serves as point person for several of the firm’s Kansas City-based clients. These clients trust Scott’s experience and skillset, including his unique ability to navigate the most efficient and cost-effective path toward an acceptable resolution of the problem presented. They cover a range of industries, including restaurants, freight/transportation companies, media companies, and adoptions and social services agencies.
Scott is an experienced first-chair trial lawyer in Kansas and Missouri. He led the Foulston team through an 11-day Kansas federal jury trial, resulting in a $12.6 million verdict in favor of Foulston’s client. The Kansas City Business Journal’s coverage of that trial is here. More recently, Scott won a Johnson County, Missouri, trial for a franchisee accused of breaching a $3 million commercial lease.
Scott has tried cases before a number of currently sitting Kansas federal judges, including federal judges Crabtree, Lungstrum, Vratil, Robinson, and Melgren. During his clerkship with former Kansas federal judge Monti L. Belot, he gained considerable courtroom experience and insight into trying a case. Scott has also argued appeals before the Tenth Circuit, Kansas Supreme Court and Kansas Court of Appeals.
Scott pioneered the firm’s work on ERISA class actions involving the mismanagement of company 401(k) plans. The Kansas City Business Journal has also featured that work.
Scott is a leader in the Kansas bar and Kansas trial-lawyer organizations. He currently serves as Vice President of the Kansas Bar Foundation and has also served as President of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel and Chair of the Johnson County Bar Association’s Civil Litigation Section. He is a member of the law firm’s diversity and business development committees.
Scott and his wife Jenny met as part of the “Marching Jayhawks” and have three children. Over the years, Scott has coached soccer and football and served as a “Band Dad” and on the “Helmet Crew,” etc. Two of Scott’s children are adopted, and he is passionate about serving today’s youth -- the “Anxious Generation” -- and has long taught confirmation at church. Scott is also an avid outdoorsman, fisherman, and deer hunter.
Education
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University of Kansas
(J.D., 1993)
Order of the Coif; Associate Editor - Kansas Law Review
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University of Kansas
(BA in Economics, Political Science, 1989)
With Distinction
Admissions
- Kansas (1993)
- Missouri (1995)
- Texas (2021)
- U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas (1993)
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri (1995)
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (2023)
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (2019)
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (2000)
- U.S. Supreme Court (2002)