Scott C. Oostdyk

Overview

Scott Oostdyk resolves serious commercial litigation for businesses of all sizes, major corporations, and governments facing their most consequential disputes—ranging from contract battles, insurance recovery actions, and employment conflicts to high-stakes product liability and commercial claims. What distinguishes Scott’s approach to advocacy is his rare combination of courtroom prowess and strategic foresight, honed through prior government leadership experience. Scott understands governmental issues uniquely from his time adjacent to a Governor’s cabinet. Scott doesn’t just win or focus on realizing the best possible outcome of a dispute; he creates solutions and identifies leverage, in and out of court, that account for business realities, regulatory exposure, and long-term operational impact.

Scott’s trial record includes successful jury verdicts in state and federal courts nationwide, as well as in international arbitrations conducted under multiple nations’ legal frameworks. He’s particularly sought after for his track record of advantageous results challenging federal rules before the D.C. Circuit and defending environmental class actions—matters where litigation intersects with regulatory risk.

Having managed billions of dollars in public resources as Virginia’s Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Resources, Scott is fluent in institutional pressure points and regulatory landscapes that most litigators miss, which often translate directly into client value. Managing twelve state agencies with combined budgets exceeding $4B sharpened Scott’s acuity in anticipating how institutions respond under pressure, navigate bureaucratic obstacles, and identify vulnerabilities before they become crises. As a result, he can spot litigation risks others overlook and structures preventive strategies that keep businesses out of court entirely.

In July 2019, a Princeton Tigers Football committee of coaches and players recognized Scott, a 1982 alumnus, as one of its “best-ever players,” citing his achievements as a tight end on the Princeton offense. The Princeton football program is one of the nation’s oldest, having played Rutgers in the first intercollegiate football game ever held.

Experience

• Represented America’s largest evangelical university in the successful defense of a whistleblower claim asserted by its former spokesman
• Successfully defended a top ten financial institution in an alleged liability for a shooting in a bank branch
• Represented a Big Three auto manufacturer in the recovery of $375M in insurance proceeds from a series of automobile liabilities
• Gained the dismissal of a citizens’ suit filed in federal court against a power producer by asserting the diligent prosecution bar to civil actions when the facility is already subject to government enforcement
• Represented a major power generator in a 1500-person class action filed in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania, winning the nation’s first decision finding common law claims preempted by the Clean Air Act, a decision later reversed on appeal on remand—also won dismissal of the action after prevailing on motions limiting the size and identification of the putative class
• Represented a large private coal producer in preparing comments and in litigating against the Clean Power Plan to the point of the unprecedented stay earned by the industry in the U.S. Supreme Court pending Circuit appeal
• Serving as lead counsel for a coal concern in challenging the EPA’s ground-level ozone NAAQs rule in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
• Won a $22M insurance recovery settlement in the E.D. VA from the National Indemnity Company, a division of Berkshire Hathaway, after NICO denied coverage to an international auto manufacturer following a loss portfolio transfer of policy assets

Honors & Publications

Honors

• Band 2, Insurance (Virginia), Chambers USA, 2026
• Virginia Super Lawyers, Business Litigation, Environmental Litigation, Legal Aid/Legal Services, Law & Politics, Thomson Reuters, 2009, 2012-2022, 2024
• Roger D. Groot Pro Bono Publico Service Award, Virginia Bar Association, 2024
• Legal Elite, Civil Litigation, Legal Services/Pro Bono, Virginia Business, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2012, 2023, respectively
• Best Lawyer, Commercial Litigation, Bet-the-Company Litigation, Litigation – Environmental, Environmental Law, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, The Best Lawyers in America, 2009-2024, 2010-2024, 2011-2024; 2021-2024; and 2022, 2023, 2024, respectively
• Legal 500 United States, Insurance: Advice to Policyholders, Legal 500, 2022, 2023
• Pro Bono Service Honor Roll, Virginia Access to Justice Commission, 2022
• Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Environmental, Richmond, The Best Lawyers in America, 2016, 2020
• Leading Lawyer, Environment Litigation, Virginia, Legal 500 US, 2018
• Fellow, Virginia Law Foundation, 2016
• Appointee, Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission, 2014
• Leader of the Law, Virginia Business, 2012
• Twenty-One Young Lawyers Leading Us into the Twenty-First Century, American Bar Association, 1995
• Burnette Award as Young Lawyer of the Year, Virginia Bar Association, 1994
• U.S. Department of Justice Award for Public Service, 1992

Publications

• Author, “Ohio Supreme Court: Insurance Policy Does Not Cover Ransomware Attack on Software,” Pro Policyholder, January 12, 2023
• Author, “Colleges Should Brace for Next Phase of COVID-19 Class Actions,” Class Action Countermeasures, April 8, 2021
• Co-author, "What If States Opt Out of EPA’s Existing Source Rule?" Law360, November 24, 2014
• Co-author, "A Constitutional Challenge to EPA’s ‘Clean Power Plan’," Law360, October 28, 2014
• Co-author, "Decommissioning: Better Now Than Later," Energy & Infrastructure, Fall 2014
• Author, "The Four Horseman of Mitigation of Damages: The Americans with Disabilities Act, Surveillance, Rehabilitation, and Vocational Placement," National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel's Bulletin, August 20, 2012
• Author, "Present Valuing Future Wage Loss: Who Has the Burden of Proof," National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel's Bulletin, August 20, 2012

News

Civic

• President, Princeton University Class of 1982, 2012-2017

Professional

• Member, Virginia Bar Association
  • Pro Bono Council Chair, 2010-2018
• Inaugural Member, Supreme Court of Virginia’s Access to Justice Commission, 2012 to Present
• Past President, Greater Richmond Bar Foundation, 2014-2015
• Member, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel
• Member, Transportation Committee, Lex Mundi
• Chairman, Community Drug Programs Committee, Richmond Bar Association, 1991-1993
• President, Princeton Association of Virginia, 1993-1995

Community

Scott is currently the pro bono partner for O’Hagan Meyer, a role he previously held at McGuire Woods for nearly thirty years.