H. Scott Bates

Scott Bates joined Morgan & Morgan in 1992 as one of its four equity partners, back when it was a seven-lawyer Orlando plaintiffs' shop, and has watched it grow into the largest plaintiffs' firm in the country. The son of noted Central Florida trial lawyer Richard W. Bates, he began practicing with his father in 1981 after taking both his B.A. (1978) and J.D. (1981) from the University of Florida, then spent five years handling medical malpractice defense for Orlando Regional Medical Center before switching to the plaintiff side. In 1989, at age 32, he became one of the youngest Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyers in Florida, a certification he also holds from the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and he has been admitted in Tennessee since 2000.