Patrick Scott -- A Competitive Spirit
by Jay Dyer

[Editor's Note: This article ran in the March edition of the magazine. It is being rerun with apologies to Patrick L. Scott to correct the editorial errors in the original version.]

Patrick L. Scott began battling for other people when he was growing up in Yuba City. He took on the bullies who preyed on other kids, losing only one fight to a future Marine drill instructor who grew up to become the "Toughest Human Being on Earth" and, eventually, a close friend. By the age of 12 he knew that he wanted to be a lawyer.

"I've always interceded for someone weaker. I taught one kid who was bullied how to box. And now I love being a lawyer. If it wasn't fun I wouldn't do it."

The Law Office of Patrick L. Scott does not believe in allowing insult to be piled onto injury. Scott has been representing injured PI plaintiffs and workers compensation applicants for 20 years. He's learned that the greatest joy comes not from money or accolades, but from the satisfaction of a job well done. And even though his energy level remains nearly as high as when he defended justice with his bare fists, he's tempered his competitive drive with a strong dose of practicality. "Let's not see who is the meanest nastiest junkyard dog," he says. "Let's just find the best result for my client."

Scott teaches clients who are hurt and scared of losing their self-sufficiency to adapt to their injuries. "A lot of clients tell me they want to keep working, they've never not worked and they can't live with themselves if they don't. And I tell them to work out like they're training for the Olympics. Make it part of your lifestyle! And I've had several of them tell me the advice saved their careers."

Scott can give such advice because he himself has had three knee surgeries and he suffers from a bad back, all payback from his rugby days. Scott played rugby at Chico State, Los Angeles Rugby Club and a club in England. Most recently he played with the Sacramento Old Boy Rugby Club (SOB). There were several fellow lawyers on the team, including John Quincy Brown, Roger Brewer and Greg Lusiani. The time spent playing tight end on the Yuba College football team probably did nothing to promote healing. As he sits in his comfortable converted-Victorian office on K Street, he's living with a bad low back and arthritis in his neck. He does not let this stop him competing in triathlons and kayaking. And, he runs, bikes, or hits the gym once a day.

River kayaking has taught him lessons that he brings to his law practice. Boating alone on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, a fierce storm brought him to the deeply felt understanding that he was defenseless in the face of Nature's uncaring force. "You have to learn to dance with the river. I teach my clients to roll with the legal profession, to dance with the system. If I'm going to drop into a keeper hole with a client, we both have to know I'll have the skill and patience to get us out."

"Patrick wants to take on the world and all the excitement that goes with it," says Scott's colleague Bill Owen, who's known him since 1973. "And he's full of compassion. Those qualities are shining."

"Pat's a good lawyer, and I think he's a wonderful guy" says Mike Conlon, who's defended some cases against Scott. "I recall a big case in 1998 involving 36 vehicles in the fog near Sacramento Airport. Pat was one of the few plaintiff's attorneys who didn't sue all 70 or 80 people named in the police report - and after his investigation he dismissed the defendants who weren't liable."

After college, Scott served in the Peace Corps in India, in a village 100 miles north of Calcutta. "We were supposed to be introducing high-yield rice, but I spent most of my time trying to survive." Bangladesh's communist government was breaking up and chaos broke loose as "gunsels" chased the Peace Corps emissaries out of their houses. Scott found that electricity and water were overrated. He learned to do without both until he returned to the United States.

Before he became a lawyer Scott worked as a claims adjuster at Wasau for three and a half years, one year while he was studying at McGeorge. After that, while still at McGeorge, he was a private investigator for Archie Mull's firm. He remembers one assignment when he sat in a house waiting for an ex-husband to show up so he could catch him in the act of burglarizing it. He got the job as an adjuster only after an armed and enraged workers' compensation applicant barged into Wasau's office at 18th and J streets and shot the unlucky innocents who happened to be working there that day. The tragedy motivated Scott to become a better lawyer who has forged a career out of successfully counseling against such murderous despair.

"I tell my clients I can't get them revenge, and I can't make the insurance companies care about them. But I can see that they're treated fairly and they know I'll fight for them until it's done."