Scott Pertee is a criminal defense attorney in the Dallas office of Dunham & Jones, and he spent nearly three decades on the other side of the encounter before he ever defended one. A Gulf War veteran, a municipal police officer, and a retired Supervisory Federal Air Marshal, Mr. Pertee knows how an arrest is supposed to be conducted — because for years he was the one teaching officers how to conduct it.
Mr. Pertee served in the United States Navy from 1991 to 1995, including service during the Gulf War. He then began a law enforcement career that would span more than twenty-five years, working as a police officer in Huntington, West Virginia from 1997 to 2000 and in Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2002 to 2006. In 2006 he joined the Federal Air Marshal Service, where he served for twenty years and retired in 2026 at the rank of Supervisory Federal Air Marshal.
Over that career he earned numerous awards and commendations from the military and from the federal and state agencies he served. He also became an instructor, collaborating with law enforcement agencies at both the federal and state level to lead training on use of force, firearms, and physical fitness. That work matters in a courtroom. When Mr. Pertee reviews a client's arrest, he is not reading a police report as an outsider — he is measuring what the officers did against the standards he was certified to teach, and he knows precisely where those standards get bent.
Mr. Pertee built his legal education the same way he built his career, earning each degree while serving full time. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Marshall University in 2004, his Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2009, and his Juris Doctor from the UNT Dallas College of Law in 2021. In law school he was a member of the Joyce Ann Brown Innocence Clinic, named for a Dallas woman who served nine years in prison for a crime she did not commit — work that gave a career law enforcement officer a close look at what happens when the system gets it wrong.
He now practices primarily in Dallas County, handling both misdemeanor and felony matters. His approach is client-focused and procedural: he starts with the person in front of him, then goes through the encounter step by step, examining what the police did, what they were required to do, and the distance between the two.
Mr. Pertee grew up just outside Huntington, West Virginia. In his free time he is with his family and friends, exercising, watching sports, and finding good food around Dallas.
Scott Pertee
Criminal Defense Attorney – Dunham & Jones
UNT Dallas College of Law | University of Cincinnati | Marshall University
U.S. Navy Veteran | Retired Supervisory Federal Air Marshal
Scott Pertee, Attorney at Law
Mr. Pertee served in the United States Navy from 1991 to 1995, including service during the Gulf War. He then began a law enforcement career that would span more than twenty-five years, working as a police officer in Huntington, West Virginia from 1997 to 2000 and in Virginia Beach, Virginia from 2002 to 2006. In 2006 he joined the Federal Air Marshal Service, where he served for twenty years and retired in 2026 at the rank of Supervisory Federal Air Marshal.
Over that career he earned numerous awards and commendations from the military and from the federal and state agencies he served. He also became an instructor, collaborating with law enforcement agencies at both the federal and state level to lead training on use of force, firearms, and physical fitness. That work matters in a courtroom. When Mr. Pertee reviews a client's arrest, he is not reading a police report as an outsider — he is measuring what the officers did against the standards he was certified to teach, and he knows precisely where those standards get bent.
Mr. Pertee built his legal education the same way he built his career, earning each degree while serving full time. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Marshall University in 2004, his Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2009, and his Juris Doctor from the UNT Dallas College of Law in 2021. In law school he was a member of the Joyce Ann Brown Innocence Clinic, named for a Dallas woman who served nine years in prison for a crime she did not commit — work that gave a career law enforcement officer a close look at what happens when the system gets it wrong.
He now practices primarily in Dallas County, handling both misdemeanor and felony matters. His approach is client-focused and procedural: he starts with the person in front of him, then goes through the encounter step by step, examining what the police did, what they were required to do, and the distance between the two.
Mr. Pertee grew up just outside Huntington, West Virginia. In his free time he is with his family and friends, exercising, watching sports, and finding good food around Dallas.
Scott Pertee
Criminal Defense Attorney – Dunham & Jones
UNT Dallas College of Law | University of Cincinnati | Marshall University
U.S. Navy Veteran | Retired Supervisory Federal Air Marshal
Scott Pertee, Attorney at Law
Dunham & Jones, Attorneys at Law, P.C.
6060 N Central Expy #888
Dallas, TX 75206
Dallas, TX 75206
214-888-8888
Bar Admissions
Memberships, Honors, and Awards
- Joyce Ann Brown Innocence Clinic, UNT Dallas College of Law
- Numerous awards and commendations, United States Navy and federal and state law enforcement agencies
- Law enforcement instructor — use of force, firearms, and physical fitness
Education
Past Employment
- Supervisory Federal Air Marshal, Federal Air Marshal Service (2006–2026)
- Police Officer, Virginia Beach, Virginia (2002–2006)
- Police Officer, Huntington, West Virginia (1997–2000)
- United States Navy (1991–1995)