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Alumnus Named GW Trustee

When Scott Mory, BA ’96, JD ’99, was elected to GW’s Board of Trustees this past May, the honor came as no surprise to his many Foggy Bottom fans. Since first setting foot on GW’s campus a decade ago, Mory has passionately served the University—from active undergraduate to president of the Student Bar Association.

For Mory, this latest honor is simply another way of saying thank you to his alma mater. “I really loved my seven years at GW,” says Mory, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and criminal justice. “By getting involved, I feel that I’m giving something back for the many great experiences I had both in college and law school.”

Mory’s love for the University was actually planted his senior year of high school, when he visited the campus for the first time. “I was so impressed that I didn’t look anywhere else from that day on,” he says. “There was a real sense of energy and excitement at GW—it looked like things were really happening and I wanted to be a part of it.”

GW more than lived up to Mory’s expectations, impressing him particularly with the quality of its people. “The University has very high achieving students who are active, faculty who engage you, and a dynamic staff, and the synergy of these groups gives the school a unique character,” he says.

Mory’s ascent to the highest levels of alumni service at GW began while he was still a student. “Throughout my years at GW Law, I was active on GW’s Young Alumni Council, and during my final year of law school, I was invited to participate in the Law Alumni Association, since I was SBA president,” Mory says. “Upon graduation, I was elected to the association’s board of directors, which I still serve, and in 2001-2002, I was privileged to serve as the law alumni association’s representative to the GW Alumni Association.”

On July 1, Mory became the newest member of GW’s Board of Trustees, elected to a three-year term as an Alumni Trustee. “I contribute the perspective of someone that recently spent seven years at GW, knows its strengths and weaknesses from a student’s point of view, and also appreciates the challenges facing the University,” he says. “As a young alumni trustee, it’s my role to make sure that the needs of alumni and students are vocalized and balanced with the needs of the other University constituencies when decisions are made. It’s a great way to stay connected and involved.”

Professionally, Mory has also flourished these past three years. After graduating from GW Law, he clerked for two years for the Hon. John Garrett Penn, U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia. “Clerking was a wonderful experience,” he says. “I was fortunate to clerk for a judge who took the time to help me develop my skills as a young attorney. I came away with an amazing foundation to build my career upon.”

Last September, he landed a position at Cahill, Gordon & Reindel in New York, where he specializes in general civil and commercial litigation. “I love working in Manhattan,” says Mory, who moved to the city just four days after the terrorist attacks. “My office is just a 10-minute walk from ground zero. It’s been an amazing year to live in New York and watch the city begin to pull itself together again and deal with the aftermath of what happened.”

As far as future career plans, Mory says that he’s taking things one step at a time. “My ideal career would lead me into higher education administration—something that brings me back to a university setting,” he says. “My second year of law school, I interned at the National Association of College and University Attorneys, and found the work and the issues thoroughly fascinating.”

For now, he’s content to stay “in the loop” through his volunteer activities. “It’s a privilege to serve the University,” he says, “and I’m glad to continue to be a part of the energy that is GW.”
—Jamie L. Freedman