Biography
Scott J. Ward is an owner in the law firm of Gammon & Grange, P.C. Scott leads Gammon & Grange’s Religious Liberty practice group and Litigation practice group. He has previously served as the firm’s Managing Owner. Mr. Ward’s law practice concentrates on the law of religious and other nonprofit organizations, constitutional law, appellate and trial litigation, child abuse prevention and response, employment and human resources law, and computer and Internet law.
Before coming to Gammon & Grange in 1993, Scott litigated intellectual property and high technology cases with the law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati in California’s “Silicon Valley.” He began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Pamela Ann Rymer of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in Pasadena, California.
Scott received his Juris Doctor degree from the Yale Law School in 1989, where he served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal and published Reconceptualizing Establishment Clause Cases as Free Exercise Class Actions, 98 YALE LAW JOURNAL 1739 (1989).
Community Involvement:
- Good Samaritan Advocates, Founding Board Member
- Chancellor for the Anglican Church in North America, the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic, and The Falls Church Anglican
Personal Note:
I was born and raised in San Francisco, California, and despite having lived in Virginia for over 25 years, I remain a faithful fan of the Giants, 49ers, and Warriors. My wife Susan and I live in Vienna, Virginia and worship at The Falls Church Anglican in Falls Church, Virginia. We have been blessed with two daughters who are in their third year at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. My interests include many things, but especially listening to music (of many kinds, but especially classical), reading (of many kinds, but especially history and other nonfiction), and baseball. I hold it as an article of faith that God created baseball for the purpose of explaining everything else in life.
Education
- Yale Law School, New Haven, Connecticut
- Doctor of Jurisprudence
- College of William & Mary
- Bachelor of Arts
- Honors: Valedictorian
Bar Admission
- California
- Virginia
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, pro hac vice
- U.S. Tax Court
Publications and Presentations
- Reconceptualizing Establishment Clause Cases as Free Exercise Class Actions, 98 Yale Law Journal 1739 (June 1989)
- Being a ‘Daniel’ After Obergefell , Outcomes, 2016
- Religious Liberty: Pursuing the Daniel Option, webinar for Christian Leadership Alliance
- Religious Identity: Living Prophetically in an Alien Culture, Intensive Training Institute (six hours) for Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference
- Religious Liberty in the Trenches, seminar for Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference
- Best Practices for Child Protection in Churches and Ministries, webinar co-presented by the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability and the Christian Legal Society Being a ‘Daniel’ After Obergefell (with Stephen H. King), Outcomes, Summer 2016
- Being a Daniel, Intensive Training Institute (six hours) for Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference
- Legal Audits for Religious Ministries, seminar for Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference
- Religious Identity, How to strengthen your mission’s religious identity – and why it matters (with Stephen H. King), an article in Association of Gospel Rescue Missions Rescue Magazine (July/August 2016)
- Legal Strategies for Strengthening Your Mission’s Religious Identity … and Why It Matters in Court, seminar for Association of Gospel Rescue Missions Annual Convention
- Religious Protections in Christian Camping, seminar for Christian Camp & Conference Association National Conventions
- Threats to Religious Liberty: Living Faithfully and Fruitfully in Exile, plenary address to Synod of the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic
- Threats to Religious Liberty: Risk Management for Churches, seminar for Synod of the Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic
- Threats to Religious Liberty: Threat Overview, presentation to Common Ground Christian Network Conference
- Threats to Religious Liberty: Risk Management for Churches, presentation to Common Ground Christian Network Conference
- Challenges to Religious Liberty: Practical Tips to Articulate Your Ministry’s Identity and Purpose and to Strengthen Your Legal Rights, 2015 webinar
- Free to Faithfully Serve: Practical Tips to Strengthen Your Mission’s Religious Identity, presentation to Association of Gospel Rescue Missions CEO Summit
- Affordable Care Act Contraceptive Mandate Developments, phone seminar presented by the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance
- Key Employment Issues Facing Churches and Nonprofits, webinar presented by the Evangelical Council on Financial Accountability
- Religion in the Secular Workplace, seminar presented at Christian Management Association National Conference
- Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct in Your Ministry, multiple presentations 2003-present
- Child Abuse Prevention, Reporting, and Response, multiple presentations 1996-present
- Child Abuse Prevention & Reporting and the Clergy Privilege, multiple presentations 2005-present
Current Position
- Director, Religious Liberty Practice Group, 2010
- Director, Litigation Practice Group, 2003
- Owner, 2003
Past Positions
- Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, Associate, 1992 to 1993
- United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Law Clerk to the Honorable Pamela Ann Rymer, 1989 to 1990
Professional Associations
- Christian Legal Society