ASHLEIGH STARNES | February 15, 2018

Scott has served on the Board of Directors for five different organizations in addition to her work on Alston & Bird’s Pro Bono Committee. 

On February 7th, 2018, the Emory Public Interest Committee (EPIC) presented an Outstanding Leadership in the Public Interest award to former board member and longtime Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation advocate Margaret W. Scott. 

EPIC, a student-run organization at Emory University, honors a select few attorneys in the community each year for their excellence in public and philanthropic service. The organization gave Scott the award as part of their 2018 Inspiration Awards. Other award winners included Monica Modi Khant of the Georgia Immigration and Asylum Network, Chief Justice P. Harris Hines of the Georgia Supreme Court, and Sai Santosh Kumar Kolluru of Emory University School of Law.

Scott has been a champion of volunteerism in the legal community from the moment she left law school. After graduating from Emory’s law program in 2003, she accepted a position at Alston & Bird and joined their Pro Bono Committee within months. She later joined the Boards of The Charles Loridans Foundation, The Vasser Woolley Foundation, the Emory University Board of Visitors, and the Chastain Park Conservancy in addition to AVLF.

“While there is no higher calling than a career in public service, my message to you is to always do whatever you can from wherever you are – regardless of your job title,” said Scott in her acceptance speech. “It is not an either/or proposition.”

Scott was selected to the Georgia Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers magazine three times and has chaired the nonprofit section of the State Bar of Georgia.

As her career took off, Scott quickly realized that every attorney has the power to be a force for good, no matter how large or small their firm.

“While there is no higher calling than a career in public service, my message to you is to always do whatever you can from wherever you are – regardless of your job title,” said Scott in her acceptance speech. “It is not an either/or proposition.”

Today, Scott’s legal practice at Alston & Bird focuses on estate planning and settlement, trust administration, charitable planning, and exempt organizations. She served on AVLF’s Board of Directors from 2006 to 2016.

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Ashleigh Starnes

Communications Associate

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