Education
Vermont Law School, J.D., M.S.L, magna cum laude
Middlebury College, B.A. cum laude
Experience
TRANSACTIONS:
- Served as seller’s counsel for several record-setting “open market” home sales in Vermont including a $14.5 million residential sale and a $10.25 million sale property, both located on Lake Champlain.
- Real Estate Counsel to a Medical Center that has included several site acquisitions in Chittenden County, construction contracts, build out and leasing.
- Provided counsel to the acquisition investment and development of a successful solar project development in Chester, Vermont.
- Family and Corporate counsel to the renegotiation of a long-term lease restructuring in Killington, Vermont.
- Counseled the expansion of a manufacturing facility in a multi-party transaction, including New Market Tax Credits. Scott negotiated the purchase contract, municipal street abandonment, and boundary adjustments with adjoining property owners, as well as the acquisition and leaseback of the facility, as part of a public/private municipal revitalization project in St. Albans, Vermont.
- Provided counsel to the buyer of a manufacturing facility in Rockingham, Vermont, including the subsequent condemnation and re-conveyance of a portion of land to Green Mountain Railroad Company to facilitate a new propane distribution facility.
- Seller’s Counsel for a historic, multi-tenant building on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont.
- Counseled the acquisition of natural gas and electric utility right-of-way corridors through Chittenden and Addison Counties, Vermont. Scott also negotiated acquisitions and eminent domain to ensure efficient project readiness and construction scheduling.
- Transacted the sale of the HGTV Dream Home in Stowe, Vermont, as well as many waterfront residences on Lake Champlain; a $5.8M residence in Carmel, CA; a $3.0M property in Barnard, VT; and resort properties at Stowe, Vermont, Sugarbush Resort, Warren, VT and at Bakers Bay Golf & Ocean Club, Abaco, Bahamas.
REGULATORY:
- Counsel to the Owner-Developer of a proposed grocery store in Hinesburg, Vermont, in contested municipal and State Act 250 permit proceedings and Environmental Division litigation.
- Counsel to the Owner-Developer of the proposed mixed use redevelopment of the former Green Mountain College campus in Poultney, Vermont.
- Counsel to the Owner-Developer of a residential development project in Shelburne, Vermont, that includes single family, multi-family and senior housing.
- Counsel to the Owner-Developer of a 98-acre lakefront parcel in Shelburne, Vermont, including municipal subdivision and regulatory approvals, resulting in the development and sale of residential building lots on Lake Champlain.
LEASING:
- Tenant’s Counsel for office and warehouse space in Boston, MA.
- Tenant’s Counsel for a new garden center retail facility in Shelburne, Vermont.
- Counsel to Tenant for the founding offices of the National Center for Campus Public Safety in Burlington, Vermont.
- Counsel to Landlord/Owner of historic building on Church Street in Burlington, Vermont
- Counsel to Tenant who prosecuted lease audit rights and defended against lease breach and termination claims in Burlington, Vermont, resulting in significant recovery of operating expenses, reduced capital restoration obligations, and facilitating strategic relocation of expanded manufacturing plant.
- Counsel to the owner of a natural foods market, including leasing matters and construction contracting for new and expanded retail facilities.
Admissions
California, 1993
U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 1993
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, 1993
U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1995
Vermont, 2001
Memberships & Activities
Fellow, American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL)
California Bar Association, Real Property Section
Vermont Bar Association
Accolades & Awards
Listed in Best Lawyers® 2018-2025
2025 Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” award for Land Use and Zoning Law, Burlington
2023 Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” for Land Use and Zoning Law, Burlington
2021 Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” for Real Estate Law, Burlington
Recognized as one of Vermont’s leading real estate lawyers, Chambers USA 2008-2024: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business
Carthage Scholar, Political Economy Research Center, Bozeman, MT, 1991
Community Involvement
Board Member, United States Tennis Association Vermont, 2021 – 2022
Audubon Vermont, Board of Directors, 2016-present
Lund Family Center, Board of Directors, 2002-2006
Mobius, The Mentoring Movement, Board of Directors, 2009-2013
U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, Assoc. Life Member
U.S. Naval Academy Parents Club of Vermont, Co-President, 2015-2020
Publications
R. Prescott Jaunich and Timothy S. Sampson, Chapter 7 Title Examinations and Title Issues; A Practical Guide to Residential Real Estate Transactions and Foreclosures in Vermont, MCLE New England, Ed. Benjamin H. Deppman, 1st Ed. 2018 (1st Supp, 2021).
R. Prescott Jaunich, Foreign Investment in Real Estate: Vermont, Practical Law Real Estate (Thomson Reuters, 2018-2025)
R. Prescott Jaunich, Real Estate Ownership: Vermont, Practical Law Real Estate (Thomson Reuters, 2018-2025)
R. Prescott Jaunich, Real Estate Brokerage Laws and Customs: Vermont, Practical Law Real Estate (Thomson Reuters, 2018-2025)
R. Prescott Jaunich, Managing Commercial Real Estate Leases: Vermont, Practical Law Real Estate (Thomson Reuters, 2018-2025)
R. Prescott Jaunich, Real Estate Leasing: Vermont, Practical Law Real Estate (Thomson Reuters, 2018-2025)
R. Prescott Jaunich, Real Estate Finance: Vermont, Practical Law Real Estate (Thomson Reuters, 2018-2025)
Author, Practical Guide to Zoning and Act 250 (National Business Institute, 2012)
Author, Historic Redevelopment and Tax Credits, VLCT News page 13 (January 2010)
Author, The Environment, the Free Market and Property Rights: Post-Lucas Privatization of the Public Trust, 15 Public Land Law Review 167 (1994)
Presentations
Speaker, Commercial Real Estate Issues and Trends, Vermont Association of Realtors, Stowe, VT, November 2, 2023.
Speaker, Maximizing PPP Loan Forgiveness, DRM PLLC (Webinar, May 28, 2020)
Speaker, HR and COVID-19: Weekly Client Update and Q&A on CARES Act and FFCRA, NFP (Webinar, April 8-9, 2020)
Speaker, How the Conservation Easement Amendment Process Should Work, Vermont Development Conference, White + Burke (South Burlington, Vermont, November 15, 2018)
Speaker, Navigating the Ongoing Legislative and Permitting Changes, Vermont Development Conference, White+Burke (South Burlington, Vermont, November 5, 2014)
Speaker, Defining the Spaces/Premises, Build-Out Modifications and the Use Clause, Retail, Office and Restaurant Leases: Key Provisions Seminar, National Business Institute (South Burlington, Vermont, April 8, 2014)
Speaker, Current Case Law and Legislative Update and Adoption and Amendment of Zoning Ordinance and Map, Practical Guide to Zoning and Act 250 Seminar, National Business Institute (Burlington, Vermont, April 2, 2012)
Speaker, Colloquium: Self Interest, Incentives and the Environment, Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) and the Liberty Fund, Inc. (Gallatin Gateway, Montana, 2009)
Speaker, The How and Why of Surveys, Title Problems? No Problem and Ethical Stumbling Blocks to Watch For, The Essential Title Examination Guide for Vermont Paralegals Seminar, Institute for Paralegal Education (Burlington, Vermont, January 12, 2004)”