Professor Scott is active in academia through her involvement with multiple organizations and associations, both locally and nationally, including the ABA and the AALS. Professor Scott served as director of the law clinic at Santa Clara University School of Law. She has also been active in clinical legal education issues nationally through her participation in the American Bar Association and the Association of American Law Schools. Her international work includes research on Romanian lawyering that was funded by IREX and Fulbright-Hayes grants.

During her time at Santa Clara, Professor Scott was a visiting professor at City University of New York-Queens Law School. She was on leave from 1994 to 1996 while serving as an English teacher in the Peace Corps in Timisoara, Romania. She also worked on elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Scott started her legal career in New York City where she practiced law with a small firm and in legal services before returning to California to work in legal services for the poor and elderly.