Margaret L. Scalise

Margaret’s casework includes litigating for military members, their families and civilians who were exposed to harmful water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and were later diagnosed with bladder cancer, kidney cancer, leukemia, Parkinson’s, and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among others. She also litigates for people and municipalities exposed to toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS “forever chemicals,” which do not biodegrade and are extremely persistent in the environment. This includes her work contributing to In re Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2873, for public water systems and communities coping with water contamination caused by AFFF firefighting suppressants. The MDL seeks to make those responsible pay for remediation and medical monitoring.

Margaret clerked for the Hon. William H. Seals, Jr., Chief Administrative Judge for the 15th Circuit, after law school. A former Motley Rice law clerk, Margaret gained additional experience through summer clerkships at a South Carolina based personal injury firm and a business defense litigation firm while completing her legal studies. 

Margaret served as a Green Zone Ally in college and went on to work as a student attorney for the Veterans Legal Clinic. Margaret also participated in the Judge Observation Experience Program as a Master-in-Equity judicial intern with the Hon. Cynthia Howe. Margaret served as President and Treasurer for Women in Law and Vice President of Carolina Equality Alliance, and held memberships with the Mock Trial Bar, Student Bar Association, and Health Honor Society. She was also a Peer Mentor to the Class of 2023, a Guardian ad Litem, and on the Pro Bono Board. She received a CALI Award for Family law, and the John R. Holland Scholarship Award.