Principal
Scott R. Bickford, the immediate past president of the Louisiana Association for Justice and one of the principals of Martzell, Bickford & Centola, is a civil and criminal trial attorney whose practice is focused in representing the rights of injured workers and families in complex maritime cases, environmental contaminations, toxic exposures and criminal proceedings. He has been trial counsel in cases involving nationwide class actions relating to asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cases, benzene exposure, massive oil spills and major rig explosions, including the DEEPWATER HORIZON, where he sat on several discovery committees concerning the investigation of the matter as well as being a participant in the Joint Investigation Committee of the United States Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Review and Enforcement. He has tried or settled multiple cases to verdicts in the Millions of Dollars. He is presently a member of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee of the McKinsey MDL litigation, Chair of the Ad Hoc NAS Committee in the Purdue Bankruptcy and an advocate and counsel to several thousand children born opiate dependent.
Additionally, Mr. Bickford has represented various governmental and private landowners in environmental land damage cases and has litigated oil and gas royalty disputes and commercial oil and gas disputes.
In addition to his civil practice Mr. Scott Bickford maintains a criminal practice involving matters such as mail fraud, money laundering, sexual misconduct cases and a variety of other criminal matters. Scott has represented multiple clients in election matters and in 1996 represented U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu in her election contest before the United States Senate. He has represented the interest of New Orleans Mayor Mitchell Landrieu and several other Louisiana elected officials in their election races. In 2008 he represented the Louisiana Democratic Party in the “Protect the Vote” project. Recently he successfully represented Mayor Andrian Perkins of Shreveport before the Louisiana Supreme Court on an election qualification dispute.
Professional and civic activities: President of the Louisiana Association of Justice; Adjunct Professor of Law and Director of Tulane Law School's Trial Advocacy Program, Member of the Board of Governors American Association of Justice, Member Louisiana Bar Association Committee on Profession; Assistant Bar Examiner, Louisiana Bar Association (1990 to Present); Former Chair Project Lazarus; Member Tulane Inns of Court, Former Master, St Thomas More Inn of Court; Former alumnus advisor Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
Mr. Bickford is also a frequent lecturer to law students, other lawyers and judges. As a AAJ Board of Governor he has coordinated nationwide moot court trial competitions among the country's law schools and lobbied for laws which treat all litigants equally. Mr. Bickford graduated from Tulane University and Tulane Law School. He was admitted to practice in 1983 in Louisiana and is also admitted to practice in Texas and Colorado.
Areas of Practice
- Admiralty and Maritime Litigation
- Asbestos Litigation
- Criminal Litigation
- Oil and Gas Litigation
- Personal Injury
- Products Liability Litigation
- Toxic Tort
Litigation Percentage
- 90% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
Bar Admissions
- Louisiana, 1983
- U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, 1983
- U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana, 1983
- U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana, 1983
- U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1984
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1988
- Texas, 1990
- Colorado, 1992
Education
- Tulane Law School, New Orleans, LA J.D.
- Tulane University, New Orleans, LA B.A.