Profile

Jim Scavo is nationally recognized for his representation of clients involved in the resort, recreational property, real estate and travel industry. His clients include developers, marketers, brokers and managers of multilocation vacation clubs, timeshare and fractional developments, destination and travel clubs, cruise club/use offerings, golf course and country club communities, condominiums, residential second homes, subdivisions and exchange companies. He serves as lead outside regulatory counsel for some of the leading fractional and timeshare developers operating in the United States while assisting many start-up enterprises in the resort industry. He is well known for his origination of the legal work on many innovative resort products offered in the United States, some of which have grown to be industry leaders, including multilocation timeshare vacation clubs, the point-based Exchange Company concept and the establishment of many diverse club products, including destination clubs, travel clubs, cruise-related clubs and Internet-based resort/vacation club offerings. Mr. Scavo is well known for having helped clients in defense of consumer complaint litigation, whether that litigation was privately or governmentally initiated.

Mr. Scavo offers his clients a full range of legal services, including assistance in project acquisition and development, financing, creation of resort plan documents, workouts of troubled projects, conversion of projects into fractional arrangements, registration and licensing filings with regulatory authorities, and providing legal advice in respect to compliance with state and federal marketing regulations. He has served as lead defense counsel to resort marketers and developers on regulatory challenges throughout the United States and has served as regulatory counsel in a resort transaction that was in excess of $2 billion.

Mr. Scavo was the founder of his prior law firm and its nationally known Resort and Hospitality Group. After more than 25 years at his former firm, he joined Taylor English. Mr. Scavo received his law degree in 1976 from St. John’s University in New York, where he was a member and editor of the St. John’s Law Review. He is a frequent speaker and author in respect to topics regarding resorts and the travel industry. He is a routine instructor for Continuing Legal Education for attorneys, and the author of many law review and trade journal articles regarding resorts and regulated real estate. Mr. Scavo maintains his office both in Savannah and Atlanta.

Memberships

State Bar of Georgia

Atlanta Bar Association, Real Estate Section, Former Chairman, 1987

Academy of Hospitality Industry Attorneys, Charter Member

American Resort Development Association, Trustee

Community Associations Institute (CAI), Past National Trustee

Community Involvement

2005 Republican Inaugural Senatorial Inner Circle (1 of 55 in State of Georgia)

Commissioner, Atlanta Clean City Commission, 1977-1979

Practice Highlights

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