Scott Alan Scurfield is a former Somerset County public defender

Public defender

The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...

. Scurfield is notable for acting in the defense of West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services explosion

The West Pharmaceutical Plant explosion was an industrial disaster that occurred on January 29, 2003 at the West Pharmaceutical Plant in Kinston, North Carolina, United States. Six people were killed and thirty-six people were injured when a large explosion ripped through the facility. Two...

 in litigation following the explosion and fire at the company’s Kinston, North Carolina

Kinston, North Carolina

Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 23,688 at the 2000 census. The population was estimated at 22,360 in 2008. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791 . Kinston is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks...

 facility in January 2003.

Scurfield has been licensed to practice law in both Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 and North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, and is a member of the North Carolina State Bar. He currently practices with the law firm of Leone Noble & Seate where he specializes in bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 law. Scurfield’s family has owned the coal mining company, Scurfield Coal Inc., for three generations.

Background

Scurfield earned a bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in Business/Economics from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, also known as UPJ or Pitt-Johnstown, is a four-year, degree-granting regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh. The university is located in Richland Township, a suburban area of Johnstown, Pennsylvania and was founded in 1927 as one of the first...

 (Latin honors|magna cum laude) in 1985, but rather than entering the family business he instead advanced to earn a Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

ate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law

University of Pittsburgh School of Law

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law was founded in 1895, and became a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools in 1900...

 in 1988.

Scurfield maintained a general law practice

Practice of law

In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...

 in Pennsylvania for twelve years, representing his family’s coal mining

Coal mining

The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...

 business and also focusing on litigation

Lawsuit

A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...

, bankruptcy, and criminal defense

Defense (legal)

In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant may raise a defense in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability...

. During this period Scurfield took on the responsibility of being a Somerset County public defender. It was in this role that he represented the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution inmate, Ernest C. Evens, who was accused of beating his cell mate to death in 1995.

In 2000 Scurfield moved to North Carolina. He practiced in the area of insurance law

Insurance law

Insurance law is the name given to practices of law surrounding insurance, including insurance policies and claims. It can be broadly broken into three categories - regulation of the business of insurance; regulation of the content of insurance policies, especially with regard to consumer...

before joining the law firm of Leone Noble & Seate in 2009 where he now practices bankruptcy law.