A Career Built on Values, a Life Built on Service

By Donna M.Z. Hoover, reprinted with permission from Vacaville Magazine, September 2026 edition.

Scott Reynolds is the lawyer who almost wasn’t. After three years of studying pre-med as an undergraduate, he realized medicine wasn’t what he wanted at all. After a tearful conversation with his dad, he was released to seek his bliss. He took a career assessment exam, and found he came out in the ninety-eighth percentile for law and business. It sparked a fire burning still today.

As of June 1, 2026, the firm he founded in 1982 joins Fennemore Law, a national firm with 375+ professionals and 22 locations. The move comes as a result of years of consideration regarding the well-being of his clients and staff. Reynolds wants a succession plan providing a “soft landing” for all if he is no longer able to practice. He remains managing director of the local Vacaville office, and with 80% of his staff in tow, the majority of the Reynolds Law team is intact.

As he makes this momentous transition, he reflects on his sometimes-circuitous journey; the road paved by the foundational influence of his upbringing—namely his physician father (who himself followed in the footsteps of his own father and grandfather). Reynolds’ dad embraced the generational expectations and was the first OB-GYN specialist in Redlands in Southern California.

Reynolds idolized his dad who grew up in the Depression. At age 14, his dad milked the cows at four o’clock every morning and delivered milk before school. He was an incredible musician, a saxophonist who played professionally when big bands came through town and needed a fill-in, and also played football and basketball in college. After working his way through medical school, his father married and grew his family. Through the years, he continued to serve as a role model for Reynolds, demonstrating a strong work ethic and instilling the importance of faith, values, and community involvement.

Reynolds had a wholesome, idyllic childhood. Traditional values espoused, he was a Boy Scout then Eagle Scout, was musically inclined—playing the piano, trumpet, and tuba—and in high school he swam and played basketball. He had two sisters and many animals: dogs, cats, a rabbit, and even guinea pigs. One remarkable day, his dad gathered up the twenty-nine guinea pigs who had embarked on a self-initiated breeding program, and traded them at the local pet store for Sandy, the golden retriever.

Reynolds remembers his father as even-tempered, respectful, and a good listener. More than anything, he never wanted to disappoint him, which made it difficult to place that phone call from college, telling his dad he wanted to break family tradition and become something other than a doctor. His father, supportive and understanding, told him he wanted him to be happy. It released Reynolds to earn both an MBA and a JD (Juris Doctor).

Early in his career, Reynolds developed a strong interest in taxation. A mentor encouraged him to join a major accounting firm rather than a law firm, reasoning that he would gain broader exposure to the field. Taking that advice, Reynolds became part of a pioneering group of lawyers hired directly into Arthur Andersen’s tax division. There, in San Francisco, he received intensive training in taxation and gained experience that would ultimately become a cornerstone of his legal career and the foundation for his later practice.

After three years, his parents’ attorney in Redlands called him looking to hire an estate planning attorney. He was excited to be back in Redlands near his parents, and to have the opportunity to spend more time with his own young family.

After another three years, a mentor advised him to start his own firm, citing his options for growth and financial success were limited where he was working. Reynolds describes that advice as a “blessing.”

It was 1982, and Reynolds was now his own boss.

He learned early on the key to success, and it came naturally to him. He had genuine care for others and easily followed the model set by his dad for community engagement. His involvement was never a marketing strategy, but his business grew as a byproduct of relationships and trust. Reynolds said one of the compliments he receives most often is that he listens to clients and explains things in language they can understand, and he traces that directly back to what people said about his father.

Reynolds finds many worthy organizations to give his attention and time. “I realized that I had a talent, a skill that benefits other people, and through the non-profits that I belong to, I give a lot of my time on a pro bono basis. I help the board of directors (of non-profits) with their bylaws, mission statements, with issues that come up. It’s free advice to the board members. Having that talent and skill, I’m very blessed.”

Of all the causes Reynolds supports, hospitals are closest to his heart. His father was not only the town’s OB-GYN, but also chief of staff for a time at Redlands Community Hospital. His dad also taught at Loma Linda University Medical School and San Bernardino Hospital. Reynolds’ affinity to their causes only grew as he encountered a life-altering medical emergency involving his family.

“The Redlands Community Hospital saved the life of my daughter when she was two and a half years old. She developed viral encephalitis and was in a coma. Paramedics picked her up on the street corner in their fire truck. They took her to the emergency room and started treatment immediately. They brought in the physician, and she was convulsing at that point in time; she wasn’t expected to live. They took her over to Loma Linda University, where they have fantastic physicians and facilities, who did all they could for her. They pronounced her dead, and we took her off life support.

(Miraculously) she started breathing on her own. She had to learn to walk, talk, eat—learn everything again. Now she is still one of the happiest people in the world, but she does have some brain damage. But she lives independently with her boyfriend. We’re just really, really blessed to have her. I thank Redlands Community Hospital for what they did in those initial stages, and Loma Linda too. They were instrumental in saving her life.

So hospitals have a soft spot in my heart, and I want to give back to them. I want to help them raise money to be able to give to others the way they did for Stephanie,” said Reynolds.

The Chamber of Commerce is in spot number two for Reynolds. “I’ve been Chamber of Commerce president of first Redlands, then Fairfield, then Vacaville. And again, it’s an opportunity for me to give back and to utilize my talent and my skills. I think the central part of any business community is the Chamber of Commerce.”

Reynolds’ philanthropy extends to many additional worthy organizations like Rotary, Boys & Girls Club, United Way, Opportunity House, and the YMCA. His involvement is consistent, and he recognizes the communities where he has lived have supported him, so he believes in giving back.

In 1996, fate drew him back to the Bay Area when he crossed paths with some friends while attending a tax forum for continuing education in San Diego. They asked if he would come jumpstart the Fairfield office of Gaw Van Male as they expanded from Napa. Reynolds grew the Fairfield office to rival Napa, and then opened a small office in Vacaville.

It was 2015 when Reynolds went out on his own again, and opened Reynolds Law here in Vacaville. He finally found his home.

“I just knew that this was a community where I belonged. It’s just so similar to Redlands as far as the social fabric, culture, the people, even the climate is very, very similar to Redlands as far as temperatures and rainfall,” said Reynolds.

At seventy-seven, he hasn’t slowed down much. He still maintains his office down south. “I still go down to Redlands every month. I usually see eight to ten clients, the two days that I am down there,” he said.

You might think Reynolds to be all work and no play, a serious sort, but he definitely has a colorful side. On a cruise, he dressed up as Superman, believing his friends would show up wearing their costumes as well. There was a cruise ship horse race, and they dressed the group’s horse up as “The Man of Steel.”

“They made this big production where everybody was behind the curtain with their horse, and then they would come trotting out onto the stage to start. Well, I didn’t realize that every other horse jockey was a kid, no older than ten years old. And there I am in my thirties dressed up in a costume. And, my good friend Bill had them play the theme song to Superman as I came out, ‘Faster than a speeding bullet, jumps high, tall buildings,’ all of that… totally embarrassed me. I came out anyway, we played the game and I was dead last; all these kids were ahead of me. Then we rolled double sixes and we won! Afterwards, I was the most popular person on the ship.

This one lady came up to me, and she gave me a big hug, and she said, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ And I said, ‘What for?’ There was betting on the race, and you were twenty-seven-to-one odds to not win. I bet on you, and I won three thousand dollars!”

Reynolds is living his best life, doing what he loves, and thriving through helping others. “People ask me, ‘Why do you still work? You could retire.’ I answer this way: I have been at this for such a long time that I really enjoy teaching clients, mentoring younger professionals. I love it when somebody comes in with a problem, and I can help them resolve it, whether it’s on the business side of it or more often on the estate planning side of it. With forty-four years of doing this, I’ve been there, done that; I’ve seen it. To address these problems, I have more creative solutions than a lot of attorneys. And it’s not that I am any smarter than they are; I just have more experience, right? So, that’s what gets me up in the morning. It’s the love of helping people,” said Reynolds.

In his mission to help others, Reynolds realized his firm was about to face the onslaught of AI and all it is bringing to the workplace and society. As it steadfastly changes the world, Reynolds recognized the unique challenges a small business like his will face to keep up with larger corporations acting ahead of the curve.

“I was looking at increased malpractice insurance for the exposure for using AI in your practice. I was looking at the cost of training for everybody before they can use AI, and then the cost of software, and that was worrisome. For small firms, that’s a lot of money to come up with,” said Reynolds.

When he learned about the forward thinking of Fennemore—years ago they partnered with ChatGPT and spent millions in developing their own AI software—he knew this would be good for business.

For Reynolds, one of AI’s greatest benefits is its ability to analyze and create documents. In estate planning, for example, AI can quickly compare an older estate plan with a new one, helping to identify changes and potential issues. What might once have taken hours to review can now be accomplished much more efficiently with the right AI prompt. “And it does that in five to ten minutes,” said Reynolds.

With so much unfamiliar, cutting-edge change, Reynolds’ greatest concern was partnering with a company that shared the principles on which he built his life and business. He found that kindred spirit in Fennemore Law, whose standards mirrored his own. “Joining Fennemore was of my choice because they’re so similar to us culturally, with the same values,” he said.

Lessons Reynolds has learned throughout his remarkable life are worth passing on to anyone starting out on their own. “Get involved in the community, give back to it because they’re supporting you, and it will come back to you many times over.”

He admits he is almost bothered by that advice because he never wants community involvement to be viewed as a marketing strategy. Any professional benefit, he says, is simply a byproduct. At its heart, his advice is simpler: give back, listen well, and be genuinely invested in the people around you.

Scott Reynolds is a director in Fennemore’s trusts and estates practice, advising individuals, families, and business owners on estate planning, probate, and trust administration matters throughout California. He is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law, designated by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction held by a limited number of attorneys in the state. He can be reached at sreynolds@fennemorelaw.com.