Timothy (Tim) Tully Scott

1959-2020

Timothy Tully Scott passed away peacefully at his home in Portola Valley, California, on September 5, 2020, surrounded by his wife and children. He was 61 years old and died from urothelial cancer, which he developed after receiving a kidney transplant in 2018. Tim was the youngest of three sons born to Peter and Ann Scott. He was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Mateo, where he graduated from Serra High School in 1977. He received his B.A. in English from Stanford University in 1981, graduating cum laude with distinction.

Following a teaching position in literature at The Thacher School in Ojai, California, Tim attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he was associate editor of The University of Chicago Law Review before earning his Juris Doctor degree cum laude in 1985. He was a member of the Order of the Coif. Upon graduating, Tim began an ambitious career as a business law litigator. He started his career at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago before moving back to the Bay Area to join Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 1987. Tim was a partner at Wilson Sonsini and was with the firm for 14 years serving in numerous management roles including Chair of the Litigation Department and Hiring Partner. He later rejoined Sidley Austin to chair the litigation practice in San Francisco. He moved to King & Spalding in 2008, where he retired in 2020 as Managing Partner of the Silicon Valley office. While his academic and professional successes gave him immense satisfaction, family and friends were Tim’s greatest joys.

Tim met Joye Roth, with whom he fell in love, in the late 1980’s. They married in 1993. Their children Jennifer and Michael were born soon after, and the three of them remained the focus of Tim’s life. Tim sought every opportunity to spend time with Joye and the children. Nightly family dinners were his top priority. “Tim always had a big influence in our family,” said his brother Brad. “He was a great source of strength to our mother and a lifelong friend to both of his brothers.” Tim loved with great care and thoughtfulness, investing time and energy to know and understand the people around him. He was always demonstrably happy at family gatherings and parties with his friends.

With a highly curious mind, Tim cultivated diverse interests including painting, photography, cooking, travel, expansive reading, and writing. He explored each of these with exuberance and commitment, sharing his enthusiasm with those he knew. Tim understood how to enjoy life with passion, courage, and impulsiveness, while inspiring his loved ones to live more fully with his singular cleverness, sharp humor, and high spirits. All who knew Tim will remember and greatly miss his humor, generosity, candor, intelligence, and honesty. But most of all they will miss his warmth and love.

Tim is survived by his wife, Joye, and his two children, Jennifer and Michael, as well as his mother, Ann, and brothers Peter and Brad.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the American Society of Nephrology’s research foundation KidneyCure in memory of Timothy Scott (www. kidneycure.org/donate).

A celebration of Tim’s life will be held as soon COVID-19 allows.