Donald A. Scott, 84, lawyer and mentor

Donald A. Scott, 84, of Lafayette Hill, a Philadelphia corporate lawyer and partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius L.L.P., died Monday, April 14, at Chestnut Hill Hospital.

During 41 years at Morgan Lewis, Mr. Scott specialized in mergers and acquisitions, securities law compliance, and corporate governance. He retired in 1998.

In 1960, he worked on the proposed merger of Philadelphia National Bank and Girard Trust Co., which was not completed because it was challenged on antitrust grounds, said colleague Howard Meyers.

In 1990, Mr. Scott led the legal team for CoreStates Financial Corp. (which evolved from PNB and is now part of Wells Fargo) in the $745 million acquisition of First Pennsylvania Bank.

Mr. Scott grew up in Philadelphia, and attended William Penn Charter School and Deerfield Academy. He graduated with honors in 1951 from Princeton University, where he was a championship squash player and member of Cottage Club.

After serving two years as an officer in the Navy, Mr. Scott enrolled at Harvard Law School, where he was selected for the Harvard Law Review and graduated magna cum laude in 1956.

Mr. Scott worked as a law clerk to Judge Learned Hand of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit before joining Morgan Lewis in July 1957. He became a partner in 1964.

In 1981, Mr. Scott helped Scott Paper Co., no family relation, avoid a hostile takeover bid by Brascan Ltd.

He represented Strawbridge & Clothier in thwarting a hostile takeover bid in 1986 by Ronald Baron, and ultimately in the sale of Strawbridge to May Department Stores Co. in 1996.

"He was in the middle of the major transactions that we handled because he was the chairman of our business and finance practice for over 20 years," said Meyers, who joined Morgan Lewis in 1973. "Don was a wonderful mentor to me and a whole generation of Morgan Lewis corporate lawyers."

In 1955, Mr. Scott married Jeanne Cooper. They were together for 57 years until her death in 2012. They lived in West Mount Airy until 2007, when they moved to the Hill at Whitemarsh in Lafayette Hill.

Mr. Scott was a director of Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co. and SunSource Inc.

His hobbies included squash at the Philadelphia Cricket Club, where he won the Club Singles Championship for the last time at age 50. He enjoyed golf and skiing, and was a member of Sunnybrook Golf Club and Merion Cricket Club.

From 1998 through 2012, Mr. Scott was a docent at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. He was a lifelong member of Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, where he was a trustee and elder.

He is survived by daughters Allison and Lindsay Leisenring, sons Andy and Jack, and nine grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave.

Donations may be made to Faith in Practice, Box 4976, Houston, Texas 77210.

215-854-2831