Dave Scott – General Counsel
Dave Scott had a successful 40-year career as a trial lawyer handling complex product safety cases before joining Axiom Financial Strategies Group as its General Counsel. His specialty was products liability involving land vehicles and aircraft that caused catastrophic injury or death. Adding to his expertise, Dave has a commercial pilot license, and is multi-engine and instrument rated.
Dave is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in both Indiana and Kentucky. He is a past president of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), a former member of the American Association of Justice (AAJ) Board of Governors, the Board of Directors of the Attorney’s Information Exchange Group (AIEG) and the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Justice Association.
He has been honored with the Award of Merit by AAJ, Indiana Trial Lawyers Award for Excellence in Continuing Legal Education as well as their Lifetime Achievement Award. Dave was also listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers for Products Liability and named in Louisville Magazine’s Top Lawyers, Personal Injury & Products Liability.
Dave received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Baker University in Baldwin, Kansas. He went on to the University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law to obtain his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.
Outside his law practice, Dave enjoys a keen interest in engineering and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
The Other Side of Dave Scott
Important Priority
“I write all the company’s client agreements. I’m trying to make those shorter so the clients can easily understand them. I’ll take out as much lawyer stuff as I can.”
Most Rewarding Part of Work
“Finding answers. I like that in this field, you can find a clear answer because everyone is on the same page. In a sense, it’s like engineering. Everything adds up. As a trial lawyer, everyone was in conflict.”
Current Goal
“I want to learn quickly all the stuff I need to know about the legal issues Axiom deals with. One thing that helps is I’ve always been able to look at things and see when they aren’t right. So, if I’m seeing 2 and 2 adding up to 5, I can usually figure out where the extra ‘1’ is.”
Biggest Career Success
“I remember my mistakes a lot better than I remember my successes. But at least I knew enough to know I had made a mistake. I’m just happy when I learn from mistakes that somebody else made or the ones I made but didn’t have to pay for.”
Work Philosophy
“I’m a natural born salmon. I like swimming upstream. The more difficult something is, the happier I am.”
Best Business Advice
“It’s twofold. ‘Make a client’s case your primary concern. Don’t worry about the money. The money will take care of itself.’ And the other great advice is, ‘Protect your integrity. It’s worth money to you.’”
Role Models
“I’ve always said that if there is a heaven, the people I’d like to meet while I’m there are John Adams, Gandhi and Louis Brandeis. Louis Brandeis is my idol. Every lawyer should want to be like him.”
Fascinating Fact
“I was once involved in a SUV rollover case where I not only designed the crash test, but I acted as the real crash dummy! The car rolled over three times during the demonstration. I proved the fact that simply having a proper restraint in rollover accidents will truly save lives.”