Richard Jamieson Scott graduated from the University of Manitoba and was called to the Manitoba Bar in 1963. He practiced law from 1963 to 1985 with the Winnipeg law firm Thompson Dorfman Sweatman, was chairperson of the Civil Litigation Subsection of the Manitoba and Canadian Bar Associations from 1975 to 1978, and a member of the board of directors for Legal Aid Manitoba from 1976 to 1982. He was a Bencher of the Law Society of Manitoba from 1980 to 1984, and President from 1983 to1984.

In 1985, Mr. Scott was appointed as a judge to the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba and, later that year, as Associate Chief Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Manitoba. In 1990, he was appointed Chief Justice of the Manitoba Court of Appeal.

Mr. Scott has also been an active member with the Canadian Judicial Council since joining in 1985. He was Chairperson of various committees (including the Judicial Independent Committee, the Special Working Committee on the Preparation of Ethical Principles for Judges, and the Judicial Conduct Committee) and served as the Council’s First Vice-Chairperson.

After retiring as Chief Justice of Manitoba in 2013, Mr. Scott served as the Independent Chairperson of the Discipline Committee of the Manitoba Law Society, and as a counsel/arbitrator/mediator with the Winnipeg civil litigation firm of Hill Sokalski Walsh Olson. He has also been active with several charities, including the Legal Help Centre, the Manitoba Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Winnipeg Foundation, and Winnipeg Harvest.