Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Capital Markets

Scott Selinger is a corporate partner based in the New York office. Mr. Selinger is a member of the firm’s Finance, Private Equity, Restructuring and Special Situations Groups, and focuses his practice on complex acquisition and leveraged finance transactions.

He has extensive experience in syndicated bank loan and high-yield bond transactions. Mr. Selinger regularly advises the firm’s private equity and corporate clients in connection with the financing of acquisitions, investments and restructurings, including the $5 billion merger of Brand Energy and Infrastructure Services and Safway Group by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and Brand Energy, the $2.5 billion acquisition of HD Supply’s Waterworks Division by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, the $2.73 billion acquisition of Local TV Holdings by Tribune Company, the $1.835 billion acquisition of Fidelity & Guaranty Life by The CF Corporation and The Blackstone Group, and the $3.2 billion acquisition of Emergency Medical Services Corporation by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

Mr. Selinger is recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Global (2023) and Chambers USA (2023), where clients note that “he is experienced, commercial and pays attention to the details.” He is also said to be “a consummate professional” who is “very knowledgeable and responsive” and is said to offer “exceptional client service and expert knowledge.” Clients have admired his “combination of a very deep technical knowledge with a take-no-prisoners negotiation style,” and report that he is “a highly skilled and technically savvy lawyer,” who is “extremely knowledgeable in the subject matter and offers recommendations based upon market activity.” He is also recognized in The Legal 500 US (2023), where clients report that he has an “encyclopedic memory” and he is “always commercial.” Sources say that he is “the best in the business” and that “his capital markets expertise and client-first mentality are second to none.” He is described as a “top-notch attorney” who is “very commercial” and whose knowledge is “beyond impressive.” Previous editions of the guide have noted that “he demonstrates depth beyond his age.” In addition, Mr. Selinger is named a Market Leader in IFLR1000 (2022).

Mr. Selinger joined the firm in 2010. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Selinger was an associate at a New York-based international law firm where he represented financing sources in numerous transactions, including the leveraged buyouts of TXU, First Data and U.S. Foodservice and the acquisition of Procter and Gamble’s prescription drug business by Warner Chilcott.

Mr. Selinger is an editor and a contributing author of the Debevoise & Plimpton Private Equity Report and is the co-author of “International Comparative Legal Guide to Lending & Secured Finance 2020: Liability Management,” International Comparative Legal Guide to Lending & Secured Finance 2020 (April, 2020); “Debt Retirement in Leveraged Financings,” The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Lending & Secured Finance (April, 2017); “Alternative Leveraged Lending Structures And Limitations,” Law360 (June, 2015); “United States: Everything Old Is New Again: PIK Notes,” Mondaq (February, 2015); “SunGard 2.0,” The M&A Lawyer (May, 2014);  “Del Monte: Staple Remover?,” The Deal Pipeline (2012) and “Some Pitfalls In Financial Carve-Outs,” The Deal (2012).

Mr. Selinger graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 2006. While at Brooklyn Law School, he was a member of the Journal of Law and Policy and served on the planning board for the Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law. Mr. Selinger is currently a member of the Brooklyn Law School Alumni Association’s Board of Trustees and has previously served as a Recent Graduate Trustee on the Brooklyn Law School’s Board of Trustees. He received a B.A. from Brandeis University in 2003.

Mr. Selinger is a member of the Bar of the State of New York.