Ward E Scott II, Esquire

Ward Scott is the Founder and Managing Partner of the international commercial law firm Scott Advocates LLP, in Kabul, Afghanistan, with offices in Washington, DC, USA. Scott draws upon its global network of world class attorneys and legal staff, to best serve its Afghan and International clients regarding all legal matters touching upon Afghanistan. Scott is also correspondent counsel with Venable LLP, with offices in Washington, DC and throughout the United States. Mr Scott is an active member of the New Hampshire (USA), American and International Bar Associations.

A highly respected and experienced litigator, appellate counsel and negotiator, Mr Scott has served as an elected District Attorney and County General Counsel, with numerous jury trials and successful state Supreme Court appeals, as well as a full array of commercial, land use, real estate and equitable actions. His practice also included investigatory grand juries and combined State and Federal Violent Crime Task Force cases, as well as white collar criminal investigation and prosecutions, and defense of the County in civil actions.

In Afghanistan, Mr Scott has served as NATO Senior Advisor for Parliamentary Affairs to the Minister of Interior, and successfully developed, in collaboration with his Afghan colleagues, a newly structured Department for Parliamentary Affairs. He subsequently appeared before the Internal Security Commission of the Wolesi Jirga, to brief the Commission on the new, best practices scheme.

Mr Scott also served as Chairman of the Legal Committee of the International Reform Working Group (IRWG), a joint initiative of the Government of Afghanistan and the International Community, commissioned by the Minister of Interior. In that capacity, Mr Scott guided the work of Afghan, German and American attorneys in assessing the implications of the Afghan Constitution, Police Law, International Law and the protocols and pronouncements of International Conferences, starting with the Bonn Conference of 2001, on the policing and ministerial reform recommendations being considered by the IRWG as a whole.

Mr Scott served as Chairman of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) of the American Embassy in Kabul. OSAC provides advice and a forum for the exchange of information and concerns pertaining to the security of the larger American Community in Afghanistan. Mr Scott previously served as a member of the OSAC Steering Committee and Co-Chairman of the OSAC Select Committee on Presidential Decree 62 and the Afghanistan Public Protection Force (APPF). The Committee provides insights and advice regarding the on-going transition of privately provided security services in Afghanistan to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

Mr Scott’s international experience includes the tri-lateral negotiation of basing, landing, air usage and control rights in Djibouti, the Horn of Africa.

A retired Marine Colonel and infantry Officer with over 34 years of active and reserve service, Mr Scott served as advisor to the 201st Corps Commander (General Mohammed Munir Mangal), Afghan National Army, and commanded the Corps Advisory Group of 300 NATO Officers and men, from 2005-6 throughout an 11-province area of responsibility extending from Kabul eastward to the border with Pakistan.

In addition to earning his law degree from Villanova University, Mr Scott is a cum laude graduate of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied economics with a concentration in international development and trade. He was a Mahan Scholar (fellow) at the United State Naval War College, conducting research on the British counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency experience in the 21st century.

Education

Juris Doctor – Villanova University School of Law, Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA
Master of Arts, Strategic Studies – United States Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island Bachelor of Business Administration – Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Professional Affiliations & Certifications

New Hampshire Bar Association
American Bar Association (ABA)
International Bar Association (IBA)
Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) – U.S. Embassy, Kabul: Chairman; formerly, Steering Committee; formerly, Co-Chairman, Select Committee on Presidential Decree 62 and the Afghanistan Public Protection Force (APPF)
IBA Committees: Anti-Corruption; Aviation Law; Intl Construction Projects; Mining Law IBA Arab Regional Forum
ABA Sections: Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice; Public Contract Law; Dispute

Resolution
ABA Forum Committee on Air and Space Law
Career Prosecutor’s Course, National Association of District Attorneys
President, American Chamber of Commerce, Baghdad, Iraq, 2005.
American Foundation for Relief & Reconciliation in the Middle East, Co-Founder and Board Member

Foundation for Relief & Reconciliation in the Middle East (UK), Member, Advisory Council