Scott Scurfield
Scott Alan Scurfield (born 29 March 1963, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania) is a former Somerset County public defender. Scurfield is notable for acting in the defense of West Pharmaceutical Services in litigation following the explosion and fire at the company’s Kinston, North Carolina facility in January 2003.
Scurfield has been licensed to practice law in both Pennsylvania and North Carolina, and is a member of the North Carolina State Bar. He currently practices with the law firm of Riddle & Brantley LLP. Scurfield’s family has owned the coal mining company, Scurfield Coal Inc., for three generations.[1]
Background
Scurfield earned a bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Economics from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (Latin honors|magna cum laude) in 1985,[2] but rather than entering the family business he instead advanced to earn a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1988.
Scurfield maintained a general law practice in Pennsylvania for twelve years, representing his family’s coal mining business and also focusing on litigation, bankruptcy, and criminal defense. During this period Scurfield took on the responsibility of being a Somerset County public defender.[3] 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 before joining the law firm of Leone Noble & Seate in 2009 where he practiced bankruptcy and personal injury law. Since 2010 he has practiced with the law firm of Riddle & Brantley LLP (www.justicecounts.com) where he practices Social Security Disability Law and Personal Injury Law out of the firm's Raleigh office.