Scott has represented businesses and corporations in contract, insurance, products and technology disputes, land use issues and a variety of pollution problems including air, water and hazardous substance cases. He counsels clients on litigation avoidance planning.
He has challenged federal agency rules before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and defended environmental class actions. He is one of the leading experts on loss portfolio transfers in the insurance industry, and represents policyholders faced with no-pay, slow-pay or excess exposure claims.
He also practices general commercial litigation, having tried numerous cases to verdict, and argued numerous appeals. He has represented local governments in general litigation matters and has extensive experience with railroad and transportation litigation. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He served former Virginia Governor George Allen as Virginia’s deputy secretary of Health and Human Resources, where he managed 12 health, social service and environmental agencies with a combined $4 billion in budget.
In July 2019, a Princeton Tigers Football committee of coaches and players recognized 1982 alumnus Scott as one of its “best-ever players since 1956” for offense.
Experience
- Gained the dismissal of a citizens’ suit filed in federal court against a power producer by asserting the diligent prosecution bar to civil actions when the facility is already subject to government enforcement.
- Represented a major power generator in a 1500-person class action filed in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Won the nation’s first decision finding common law claims preempted by the Clean Air Act, a decision later reversed on appeal. On remand, won dismissal of the action after prevailing on motions limiting the size and identification of the putative class.
- Represented a large private coal producer in preparing comments and in litigating against the Clean Power Plan to the point of the unprecedented stay earned by industry in the U.S. Supreme Court pending Circuit appeal.
- Serving as lead counsel for a coal concern in challenging EPA’s ground level ozone NAAQs rule in the D.C. Circuit Court of appeals.
- Won a $22 million insurance recovery settlement in the E.D. VA from the National Indemnity Company, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, after NICO denied coverage to an international auto manufacturer following a loss portfolio transfer of policy assets.
- University of Virginia School of LawJD1987
-
Princeton UniversityBA
with Distinction
1982
Member, Virginia Bar Association
President, Greater Richmond Bar Foundation, 2014 – 2015
President. Princeton University Class of 1982, 2012 – 2017
Coordinator, Virginia’s Health and Environmental Response to the Pfiesteria Picada Outbreak, 1997
Member, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel
Member, Transportation Committee, Lex Mundi
Chairman, Community Drug Programs Committee, Richmond Bar Association, 1991-1993
President, Princeton Association of Virginia, 1993-1995
- Speaker, 11th Annual Coal Industry Briefing, September 19, 2012
- Virginia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Named to “Legal Elite,” Civil Litigation, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021; Legal Services/Pro Bono, 2012, 2023, Virginia Business
Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, 2009-2024; Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2010-2024; Litigation – Environmental, 2011-2024; Environmental Law, 2021-2024; Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2022, 2023, 2024; Woodward/White, Inc.
Selected for inclusion in “Legal 500 United States,” Insurance: Advice to Policyholders, 2022, 2023
Named to “Pro Bono Service Honor Roll,” Virginia Access to Justice Commission, 2022
Named to “Virginia Super Lawyers,” Business Litigation, Environmental Litigation, Legal Aid/Legal Services, Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2009, 2012-2022
Named “Lawyer of the Year,” Litigation – Environmental, Richmond, Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc., 2016, 2020
Selected for inclusion as a “Leading Lawyer,” Environment Litigation, Virginia, Legal 500 US, 2018
Named a Fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation, 2016
Appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission, 2014
Named a “Leader of the Law,” Virginia Business, 2012
Named to “Twenty One Young Lawyers Leading Us Into the Twenty First Century,” American Bar Association, 1995
Recipient, Burnette Award as Young Lawyer of the Year, the Virginia Bar Association, 1994
Recipient, U.S. Department of Justice Award for Public Service, 1992
- Author, Ohio Supreme Court: Insurance Policy Does Not Cover Ransomware Attack on Software, Pro Policyholder, January 12, 2023
- Author, High Court’s Upcoming Decision May Have Major Impact on Foreign Arbitrations, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, April 21, 2021
- Author, Colleges Should Brace for Next Phase of COVID-19 Class Actions, Class Action Countermeasures, April 8, 2021
- Author, Insurance Relief for Riot-Impacted Businesses, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, June 2, 2020
- Author, Policyholders Must Give Timely Notice to Preserve COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, May 13, 2020
- Author, Hurricane Florence Commercial Property Damage and Business Interruption Insurance Checklist, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, September 18, 2018
- Author, Trump’s Rollback of Environmental Regulations Likely to Spur Citizen Suits, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 13, 2018
- Author, EPA Proposes Clean Water Act Changes Regarding Discharges Via Groundwater Connecting to Surface Water, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 1, 2018
- Author, Supreme Court Strikes Down EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 1, 2015
- Co-author, "What If States Opt Out Of EPA’s Existing Source Rule?", Law360, November 24, 2014
- Co-author, "A Constitutional Challenge to EPA’s “Clean Power Plan”", Law360, October 28, 2014
- Co-author, "Decommissioning: Better Now Than Later", Energy & Infrastructure, Fall 2014
- Author, "The Four Horseman of Mitigation of Damages: The Americans with Disabilities Act, Surveillance, Rehabilitation and Vocational Placement", National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel's Bulletin, August 20, 2012
- Author, "Present Valuing Future Wage Loss: Who has the Burden of Proof", National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel's Bulletin, August 20, 2012
- Author, EPA Announces Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding as United Nations Climate Talks Open in Copenhagen, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, December 9, 2009
- Author, 2nd Circuit Rejects “Political Question” Dismissal of Key Climate Change Case, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, September 23, 2009