Scott P. Spector
June 24, 1949-Nov. 8, 2022
Palo Alto, California
Scott P. Spector, a dedicated adventurer and partner emeritus with the Silicon Valley law firm Fenwick & West, died on November 8, 2022, from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident. He was 73.
An exceptional lawyer, devoted family man and loyal friend, Scott lived life with passion and without regrets. He was forever in search of the next cool adventure – running marathons, climbing mountains, hiking down the Grand Canyon, rafting the Colorado River, running with the bulls, going on safari, sailing the Mediterranean and the Caribbean seas, or simply throwing parties in the “sports bar” of his Palo Alto home. He was a “big event” guy. His checklist included multiple Olympic games, the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl, the seventh game of the 1986 World Series, the Indy 500, John Glenn’s 1998 return to space from Cape Canaveral, and Elton John’s “last” concert.
“Scott was unique. He lived life loud,” recalled his friend and Fenwick colleague Dennis DeBroeck. “And we all got to live his adventures vicariously because he loved to tell us about them – over and over again.”
“He was a genuine original, a one-of-a-kind personality and a once-in-a-lifetime friend,” said Bob Ryan, a friend and neighbor who met Scott when they began a daddy-daughter group for their children in kindergarten. “He loved fast cars, expensive bicycles and exotic vacations. But his deepest values were rooted in his love for his family and his friends.”
Scott was born in Chicago on June 24, 1949, to Jerry and Dolly Spector. He grew up in suburban Skokie and graduated from Evanston Township High School. He earned a B.A. at Tulane University and then stayed to attend law school there. After receiving his J.D., he earned a Master of Law degree in taxation from New York University School of Law.
Scott met his wife, fellow attorney Holly Ward, in New York City. They married there in 1987. Two years later Scott was offered a position at Fenwick, known for incorporating Apple Computer for its legendary founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Mindful of unique client needs in the rapidly growing technology sector, Fenwick recruited Scott to focus on employee equity compensation and related tax law.
When Scott and Holly visited Palo Alto before accepting the firm’s offer, former Fenwick Chairman Gordon K. Davidson recalled, he stressed to them the great weather and natural beauty of the Bay Area. When questioned about the risk of earthquakes, “I said, ‘No, no; there’s no problem with earthquakes. We never even notice them.’ ”
Scott took the job, and they moved to Palo Alto on Sept. 17, 1989, exactly one month before the Loma Prieta earthquake, the strongest and most destructive tremor in Northern California since the San Francisco quake of 1906.
Scott established and led for more than 30 years Fenwick’s Executive Compensation & Employee Benefits group, building a world-class practice of which he was extremely proud. Colleagues at Fenwick recall him as a supportive partner and mentor whose steadfast integrity helped guide clients through many ethical and legal challenges.
Scott was creative, Davidson said, and when Fenwick was preparing to take Facebook public, he worked with a group of peers and regulators to establish an innovative approach to equity compensation that the rest of the industry soon followed. “That really put us – and him – on the map,” he said.
Scott was active in both the Tax and Business Law Sections of the American Bar Association, participating in authoring many comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission on rule proposals involving executive compensation, and he regularly spoke at national law conferences. At one such conference at Stanford University in 1992 Scott met Mark Borges, then general counsel for a small Silicon Valley software company.
“He was approachable and a good speaker. He seemed like someone to maintain a relationship with,” Borges recalled. The relationship deepened, and seven years later, Scott recommended Borges for a position at the SEC. As a result, Borges spent the next 23 years in Washington, DC, where he and his wife raised their family. “Scott changed the trajectory of my life,” Borges said. “It never would have happened if not for him.”
As hard as he worked, Scott always found time to play. An expert skier and avid road biker, Scott loved retirement because he could ride five days a week and ski as much as he wanted. Once he gave up trying to get Holly to be his ski companion, he hired an expert guide wherever he went, purportedly to allow him to skip the lift lines, but also because he still wanted to become a better skier. Scott cherished his friends, whose recollections often echoed one another. He would reach out to people he hadn’t heard from in years, just to say hello. He had a standing Sunday morning coffee date with neighbor Pete Kerman, which became a running joke in Scott's family known as “Pete at Peet’s.” Said longtime friend Keith Higgins, a Boston attorney, “We talked frequently by phone, but he didn’t keep score on who called whom. He knew the value of friendship. He did what it took to keep that alive.” Former partner Alan Smith said, “I don’t think I’ve known anyone – particularly any male friend – more deeply invested in people and relationships. He gave tremendously, and he cultivated people and fun.”
Lisa Kenkel, a former Fenwick partner, recalled: “Scott's strong passions were unusual in that they were loosely held. He was a mountaineer, until he wasn't; a runner (with and without bulls), until he wasn't; a Tour de France fan, until he wasn't, and then was again; one of the best lawyers in his field, until he walked away from the billable world. Scott was always moving forward, adapting and evolving – unafraid to try something new and equally unafraid to let go of a deeply held passion that no longer fit.”
Most of all, he loved sharing adventures with Holly and their daughters, Melanie and Stephanie. “Scott had a lot of people who considered themselves his best friend,” Holly said. “But there was no competition. I was Scott’s best friend, and he was mine.”
“I think the things I love most about myself, I learned from my dad,” recalled Melanie. “He taught me how to laugh at myself, how to be a bad-ass skier – and brag about it – how to maintain and cherish friendships. Most importantly, he taught me to love every minute of life.”
Stephanie remembers that he was always there when she needed him. “He saw every play I was in. He cheered me on at every soccer game, even though I was the worst kid on the field. He even said he was proud of me after I threw a party behind his back. Because he loved being my dad, and I loved being his ‘little’ girl.”
A celebration of Scott’s life was held on November 19 at his beloved backyard sports bar. It was the kind of party he would have enjoyed, with music, dancing, and lots of photos and stories from his adventures.
In addition to Holly, Melanie and Stephanie, Scott is survived by his sister, Jodee Smith of Orlando, FL, his rambunctious Siberian Husky Saki, and scores of people who continue to insist they were truly Scott’s best friend.
Memorial contributions may be made to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley or any favorite charity.
