Nancy Scott Degan

Nancy Degan is a shareholder in the New Orleans office and leader of Baker Donelson's Business Litigation Group. She has extensive experience representing clients in various business disputes, including those concerning oil and gas interests, shareholder actions and other securities litigation, and various business torts, including unfair trade practices, franchise issues and interference with business relationships. She has also represented clients in telecommunications litigation and in adversarial proceedings before regulatory bodies, such as the National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA), the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the Louisiana Tax Commission.

Representative Matters

• Successfully defended numerous companies in disputes with their shareholders.
• Obtained $2.7 million summary judgment for national oil and gas producer in breach of contract action.
• Successfully defended national bank in action brought by trust beneficiaries for breach of trust agreement/breach of duty.
• Successfully represented an international hair care manufacturer and majority stockholder in breach of contract/unfair trade practices action brought by distributor.
• Successfully represented numerous brokerage firms in actions brought against them by customers for nonsuitability claims.

Publications & Speaking Engagements

• Panelist – "Gulf Oil Spill Aftermath: Are ADR and Mass Disaster Litigation Like Oil and Water?" American Bar Association Annual Conference, Miami, Florida (April 15, 2011)
• Featured – "Q & A With Baker Donelson's Nancy Scott Degan," Law360 (September 2010)
• Speaker – Louisiana State University's 57th Mineral Law Institute, "Royalty Claims: Mineral Code Demands and Remedies" (March 2010)
• ABA's The Sound Advice Audio Library, "What They Didn't Teach You in Law School"  (February 2010)
• Speaker – Tulane University School of Law, "Federal Class Action Fundamentals" (December 2009)
• Chair – New Orleans Bar Association Bench Bar Conference (2007)
• Speaker – Louisiana State University’s 53rd Mineral Law Institute, "Case Law and Legislative Update" (April 2006)
• Co-author – "A Practical Guide to Commercial Damages in Louisiana," 44 Loyola Law Review 257 (Summer 1998)
• Co-author – Louisiana Courtroom Evidence (1995), a comprehensive Louisiana evidence desk book published by Betterworths and Michie Publishing companies, now a division of Mead Data Central.  This book is used as a resource by judges and litigators to interpret and apply Louisiana's Code of Evidence

Professional Honors & Activities

• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2003 in the areas of Commercial Litigation, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Regulatory Enforcement (SEC, Telecom, Energy)
• Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2010
• 2006 "Leader in the Law," New Orleans CityBusiness magazine
• Listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers since 2007 and among the top 25 female attorneys in the state since 2007
• Listed among top 10 attorneys in Louisiana by Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2010 – 2012; listed in top 50 attorneys in Louisiana in 2009, 2011, 2012 
• Recognized as a "Top Lawyer" by New Orleans Magazine, 2010 
• Adjunct Professor of Law – Loyola University Law School, 2002 – 2003 (Courts in a Federal System)
• Leadership Positions – American Bar Association
  • Vice-chair – Section of Litigation (2012 – 2013)
  • Chair-elect – Section of Litigation (2014 – 2015)
  • Revenue Officer – Section of Litigation (2010)
  • Managing Director – Section of Litigation (2008 – 2009)
  • Co-chair – Section of Litigation Membership Committee (2003 – 2004)
  • Co-chair – Section of Litigation Publishing Summit (2006 – 2007)
  • Council – Section of Litigation (2003 – 2006)
  • Co-chair – Section of Litigation Annual Conference, Houston, Texas (2003) 
  • Division Director (2002)
  • Co-chair, Business Torts Committee (1998 – 2001) 
  • Associate Editor, Litigation News, distributed to approximately 70,000 members (1992 – 1997)
• Faculty member – Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy (2003)
• Member – World Trade Center
• Member – New Orleans Chamber of Commerce
• Member – Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation
• Named to New Orleans CityBusiness Women of the Year, 2008  
• President – Loyola Law Alumni Association (1990)
• President – University of New Orleans International Alumni Association (2004)
• Member and Development Chair – WWNO-FM (Public Radio) Advisory Board (1995 – 2002)

Admissions

• Louisiana, 1983 (all federal and state courts)
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1993

Education

• Loyola University, J.D., 1983, magna cum laude, Articles Editor, Loyola Law Review
• University of New Orleans, B.A., 1979, cum laude, with honors in English