Scott Chafin Jr.

When I was 13, the coach of our rival baseball team was on the state tournament board. He changed the rules to prevent me from playing in the state tournament two days before we were scheduled to play. I asked my mom and dad what we could do. They said “there’s nothing we can do about it because we don’t make the rules.”

At that moment when I was 13, I swore that I would always fight for the people who don’t make the rules. Over the last twenty years of my legal career, I have won cases that others said could never be won. I still truly believe in our justice system. I believe that American courtrooms are where the people who don’t make the rules have a level playing field.

It takes a fighter to win cases who is personally motivated every single day. I stay true to the promise I made to myself at 13 years old. My parents instilled in me a deep sense of serving the community. My father was in law enforcement for 38 years and my mother taught public school for 34 years.

They showed up, on time and prepared every single day of their careers to serve their communities. Scott was born on the Louisiana Gulf Coast in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He graduated from college in Lake Charles where he attended McNeese State University. Scott was on the McNeese baseball team.

He attended law school at Loyola University New Orleans, and met his wife Emily in a law school class. This year, Scott and Emily were honored to have the Loyola Law School Trial Room named after their family. Scott has been at the firm since 2008, and has managed the firm since 2014. He is a past President of the Louisiana Association for Justice, which is the state organization dedicated to training and educating trial attorneys.

Scott frequently speaks at conferences to train other lawyers. When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the legal system, in 2020, Scott founded Legal Grounds and hosted weekly Zoom meetings for attorneys to exchange best practices, offer support, and continue pursuing justice. Today, Legal Grounds is a thriving community of 8,000 members with a shared mission: to serve clients more effectively. He takes on some of the toughest legal challenges, and has a success rate that is unmatched.

“One of things I’m proudest of is that even though I win really hard cases, I still choose to help people solve everyday problems. I have a saying that I tell my firm: ‘We might win big cases, but there are no small cases. Every case is big to somebody.’ I don’t let people in my office forget that.”

He has his own scholarship fund called the “Louisiana Heroes’ Scholarship Fund”. In honor of his parents, this fund gives scholarships to children of Louisiana teachers and first responders who are attending Louisiana colleges. Now in its 6th year, the Scott’s scholarship fund has given over $75,000.00 to Louisiana students. The scholarship fund is entirely funded by a percentage of Scott’s fees on cases he wins.

Scott also hosts an annual benefit sporting clay shoot in conjunction with the Federal Bar Association of North Louisiana. Each year the money from the shoot goes to first year servicemen who cannot afford a plane ticket home for the holidays. In the last 12 years, Scott has raised over $100,000.00 and sent hundreds of servicemen home for the holidays to be with their families.