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Sterling Scott Willis

Partner

Partner

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Practice Focus

Business Banking and Finance Real Estate

About

Scott Willis practices primarily in the areas of commercial transactions, negotiated acquisitions, banking, and commercial real estate acquisitions, development, and financing.

“[Scott] is a fantastic lawyer.” —Real Estate Client, Chambers and Partners

Across his career, Scott has consistently held leadership roles in major professional organizations focused on real estate, banking, and transactional law. He is a fellow of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL) and serves as secretary of its 2026 Board of Governors. He is also a member of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA), where he serves on the Board of Regents.

Scott frequently lectures on commercial transactions and legal opinion issues and has served as a guest lecturer at LSU Law School, where he is also an emeritus member of the Alumni Board of Trustees.

Experience

  • Served as counsel to Sunrise Foods International in connection with the establishment of the first U.S. dedicated natural grain facility at the Port of New Orleans.
  • Served as counsel to the New Orleans Convention Center, which controls the majority of a 47-acre property along the east bank of the Mississippi River, in negotiations for the master development of and ground leases for the $1 billion mixed-use River District development project; current plans include a new office building to house Shell Oil’s Gulf of Mexico headquarters, a Top Golf entertainment complex, and approximately 900 mixed-income apartments and condominiums, including space for those qualifying for affordable or workforce housing rents.
  • $60 million acquisition of the Pan American Life Building in New Orleans by Stirling Properties, which transaction was referenced in The Wall Street Journal on December 8, 2010, as its “Deal of the Week.”
  • Rouses Supermarkets’ acquisition of the southern division of A&P Supermarkets and subsequent expansion to 80 plus stores, including the leasing, construction and remodeling of numerous facilities.
  • Acquisition, financing, and transfer of over two dozen hotel developments.

Professional Activities & Community Involvement

Recognitions

Media

  • Author, “Managing Professional Liability Risks in Preparing Legal Opinions,” ALI CLE: The Practical Real Estate Lawyer, March 2025.
  • Editor, Opinions Matters, the newsletter of the Legal Opinions Committee of the ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Laws Section.
  • Co-author, “Title Insurance or Title Opinion Letters?” 7 No. 1 REAL PROP. TR. & EST. O.M. 11, Spring/Summer 2023.
  • Co-editor, “Uniform Commercial Code Opinions in Real Estate Finance Transactions” by ACMA, ACREL and RPTE. 53 REAL PROP. TR. & EST. L. J. 137, Fall/Winter 2018.
  • Co-editor, “Local Counsel Opinion Letters in Real Estate Finance Transactions,” A Supplement to the Real Estate Finance Opinion Report of 2012 by ACMA, ACREL and RPTE, 51 REAL PROP. TR & EST. L. J. 137, Fall 2016.
  • Author of Article 9 Remedies in West’s Louisiana Statutes Annotated Code of Civil Procedure
  • Co-presenter, “Follow-On Opinions in Financing Transactions,” American College of Mortgage Attorneys 2025 Annual Meeting, Oct. 2025.
  • Member of the drafting group for the ABA/ACREL Real Estate Opinion Letter Guidelines 38 REAL. PROP. PROB. & TR. J. 241, 2003.

Credentials

  • J.D. from Louisiana State University, 1983
    • Associate Editor of the Louisiana Law Review
    • Order of the Coif
  • B.A. from Louisiana State University, 1980
  • Louisiana

Notable Rankings

Sterling Scott Willis 2025 Chambers BadgeScott Willis Best Lawyers 2026 BadgeSuper Lawyers 2026 badge