SCOTT M . PETERSON

MY STORY

My best friend’s mother always tells the story of me standing in her kitchen in 4th grade, telling her I was going to be a lawyer. I guess you could say I was destined for this profession early on (even though I had no idea what a lawyer actually did). I did, however, realize a few things about myself at a fairly early age:

1. I never liked blindly following convention;
2. I had little tolerance for the “strong” picking on the “weak”; and
3. I was not afraid to take risks.

I didn’t start D’Orazio Peterson right out of law school. Instead, I spent several years at a very good Albany law firm, where I learned the ropes from one of the most respected trial lawyers in the area. The work was interesting, mostly defending the rights of large companies, insurance companies, medical institutions and, in general, the Goliath’s of the world.

For several years I sat in depositions, trials and courtrooms, often one of several defense lawyers teaming up to defeat the claim of an individual. The work was interesting, but on more than one occasion I found myself feeling like I was on the wrong side.

It all came to a head when I was on the phone one day with an insurance adjuster for a big insurance company. I was working on a case defending a municipality against a wrongful death claim. A young man had been killed when a driver who was fleeing the police crashed into his car. He was 17, and by every measure had a bright future ahead of him. The adjuster (who was a nice guy and just doing his job), was asking me question after question about the “low value” of the case because of the young man’s age; he was going to college and as a result did not have any “earning history.” I went home that night and couldn’t sleep. The callousness with which the company treated this situation sat with me. To them, he was just another number, another case to pay as little as possible to his grieving family.

I found myself at a professional crossroads, and decided to take a risk and do what I knew I had to. I left my firm.

I opened the “doors” to Peterson Law Firm, and at that moment I knew that I would limit my practice and focus on representing people, and not big companies. I also decided then and there that I would focus the practice on helping real people. I have never regretted that decision. A year later Giovanna left her job at a large and very prestigious law firm, and D’Orazio Peterson was born.