With a combined 100 years of legal experience, alumni Stanley Adams and Craig Scott look back at their work in private practice and experiences at Utah Law and discuss plans for the future.
Stanley Adams
Stanley Adams (JD ’72) has enjoyed a legal career spanning over 50 years, specializing in litigation, criminal and domestic defense. Yet, he didn’t initially start out on this path. Prior to law school, Adams made a living in business. When he decided to continue his education, there was one top choice.
“I liked Utah Law for its location and credibility. Plus, I wanted to stay close to home and be involved in the community,” he says.
And there’s been no regret for him since. He remembers law school fondly, particularly Dean Sam Thurman, who made an impact on him in many ways. Soon after graduating, Adams opened his own practice in Salt Lake City, where he continues to work.
“My biggest motivation to go into self-practice was my independence. I loved to be able to set my own schedule and take the cases I wanted to,” Adams says.
Moreover, it’s been rewarding for him to help others solve their legal issues.
“Throughout my career, I have helped many people turn their lives around so that they no longer follow their current path,” Adams says. “In addition, I always felt very rewarded when I helped someone charged with a crime and the court found them ‘not guilty.’”
He recalls one case in which a young man faced extensive criminal charges for drugs and alcohol.
“I worked out an arrangement where no incarceration or heavy fines were put on him if he agreed to serve an LDS Church mission, which he did,” Adams recalls. “When he returned from it, he invited me to speak at his homecoming. He has stayed sober and has had a great life since.”
Self-practice does have its challenges, though, and Adams notes how often he struggled for clients to pay him for the services provided.
Many people have influenced and mentored him along the way—from his parents to fellow law school classmates.
“My parents were my biggest mentors. I can’t count the lessons I learned from them, but they taught me above all to live by the ‘Golden Rule’ and treat others the way I wanted to be treated,” he says. “Richard Burbidge (JD ‘72) was also very influential in my life. He taught me to always be prepared!”
He’s learned that the law is the best way to resolve differences but also notes the effectiveness of a handshake and some honesty.
“I believe that the legal foundation of our country is the most fair in the world at this time,” he says.
Adams currently holds the lowest Utah State Bar number—20—which signifies a long career in law in Utah (the Bar numbers are assigned sequentially).
“I feel very proud to have practiced the law for so long and will continue to work until I go blind or I die,” he says.
Craig Scott
When Craig Scott (JD '78) studied American history in eighth grade and learned that many members of Congress were lawyers, he decided law school would help him reach his goal of working in Congress. Like many goals, however, this one changed as Scott's family changed.
"My wife and I have eight children, and providing for their needs was better done on the salary of an attorney than spending all my time and money running for Congress. So that dream kind of slipped away as life happened," Scott recalls. "But I did want to have a political experience, and I got one beginning in 1991. Leaders in Orange County, California, told the unincorporated areas they needed to become cities. I was one of the leaders who incorporated the city of Laguna Hills and was part of the inaugural city council for almost 20 years. I also served four terms as mayor."
Though he has lived in Orange County for more than 40 years, Scott moved frequently during childhood and was drawn to Utah for his undergraduate degree and then law school since family members lived in the state.
"My father went to the University of Utah and took a job with General Electric. We moved to upstate New York, then Pennsylvania, Australia, and the Philippines, where I graduated from high school," he says. "My family stayed in the Philippines, but I came to Utah to earn my bachelor's degree in business management, figuring I could go into business if I didn't make it to law school. Then I applied to and was accepted at other law schools, but I couldn't beat Utah Law's deal: $350 a semester."
Dean Walter Oberer (now known to current students as the "Tracksuit Dean" due to his official portrait and affinity for running) began leading Utah Law in 1975, when Scott began his first semester.
"Dean Oberer was a wonderful professor, and I thought the rest of the faculty was outstanding. I was very pleased with my decision to go to the University of Utah's law school," Scott says. "I went expecting to end up as an employment lawyer, because my father dealt with strikes in his General Electric work. The faculty of my high school also went on strike when I was the student body president. I enjoyed the employment arena and seeing things from a management perspective."
After graduation, Scott moved to Los Angeles and joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter, and Hampton, now a global business law firm with more than 1,200 attorneys. He became a partner with the firm and moved to Orange County to open a labor and employment law practice there before establishing his own firm, Scott & Whitehead, in 1993.
"I've been on my own for more than 30 years now, and it's been very satisfying, though I was happy during the 13 years I spent at Sheppard Mullin," he says. "I'm most proud that I created a then-new category: executive law. I found a need to represent executives in the private sector and city managers in the public sectors. They were not well-served by lawyers who deal with either employers or more rank-and-file employees. It was a wild notion at the time, and it required a different set of skills."
Scott's experience as a mayor and city council member has also helped as he has narrowed his practice over the last 15 years to represent city managers and public executives throughout California.
"I know what city management is all about, and I've enjoyed helping city managers working through an exit situation, or going into new employment, or dealing with the challenges of city councils," he explains. "Every new lawyer should decide right away how they can differentiate themselves from everyone else and find a niche. Those who are most successful help their clients because of their expertise in a narrow area. You probably won't know what that will be when you graduate from law school, but as you get into your job, you'll find something you can do better than others. That can work to your financial benefit and general wellbeing."
Even though he's practiced law for nearly 50 years, Scott currently has no plans to stop working.
"People ask me all the time why I don't retire. My response is, 'I don't play golf, so what would be the purpose?'" he explains. "I look forward to continuing to practice for the foreseeable future. I like what I do, and it's been a good way to sustain my family."