Social worker-turned-attorney uses UC law degree to fight injustice

University of Cincinnati alumni, Scott Coye-Hune (‘04), a son of Cincinnati, former social worker and, today, an attorney focusing on economic sustainability, is just one of the guest speakers at the upcoming UC College of Law’s event UC Next: Converge. Connect. Celebrate. This TedX-style event, held 3-8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27, in Room 114 at the law school, will feature some of the country’s leading thought leaders discussing the legal and business issues that impact their fields. Registration is still open; sign up today. UC has requested approval for 2.5 hours of general CLE.

Coye-Huhn is president and general counsel at Aloterra, LLC in The Woodlands, Texas. Aloterra is a next generation agribusiness (NGA), focused on growing perennial crops and turning those crops into finished products in the same community, combining agriculture and manufacturing. 

Did you always know you wanted to work in the legal field?

No. Law is a means to the end.  I started with a social work degree and worked in the West End among other low-income neighborhoods when I developed the belief that macro issues of injustice were more important to address.  That led me to getting a masters in Social Work and working on larger economic development issues as a community organizer to address systematic poverty. After a few years I felt that social work was not going to get me to the right table to create change, so I pursued a law degree to build a better skill set to address macro issues of injustice.  The connection in these fields is that my life goal is basic - to leave the earth a little better than when I got here. I think the teaching I received from St. Xavier High School that we’re all called to serve, to be “men for others” (it is an all boy school) is a core reason for this.

Can you describe your journey through the legal field?

After law school I moved to Houston, Texas. My Caribbean wife said “no more winters” and we really liked the diversity Houston had to offer. In my first firm I started in basic litigation and transferred onto a team that was focused solely on representing public entities (states, ports, etc) in cleaning up historical environmental contamination.  Although I felt this was honorable work, I was frankly miserable in the world of litigation. Not only was I unhappy, I am not sure I was any good at it. After practicing in litigation from 2004-2010, it was time to move on.

How did you end up where you are today?

After leaving litigation in early 2010, I started my own firm and I was going to build a small practice.  In the background my two business partners and I were talking about ways to bring sustainable products into US markets on a large scale.  Our initial goal was to build renewable fuel facilities. They were experts in fuel and my background in law and community organizing would help with farmers and getting through many hoops with the USDA, DOE, and other agencies. The entire industry was heavily focused on the technology to make fuel.  In our opinion, the industry wasn’t paying enough attention to a separate and equally challenging problem – how to feed a facility with hundreds of thousands of tons of feedstock (crops) that is located within 50 miles of the plant. Our focus was on controlling the raw material that can make the sustainable products.  Around 2012 we pivoted to consumer products like pulp, paper, packaging, and others for a host of reasons related to risk reduction. Importantly, to me this is all consistent with my above goals - success means new cash crops for farmers, new manufacturing jobs in rural America, and products on the shelf at Walmart that don’t harm the environment.  A win-win-win.

What can we expect from your talk during the UCNext series?

I will briefly describe what our company does and try to place it in the context of where I see the sustainable economy developing in the future.  Our country will see hundreds, and maybe thousands, of small scale manufacturing facilities developing in rural America in the coming generation that make sustainable products. The implications are many and I will try to touch a few of them in my few minutes. Hopefully folks find it interesting.

How do you see the legal field changing or evolving over the next 5-10 years?

I’m no expert there. I’m just a guy that is trying to make a difference that happens to have a law degree.  I find that attorneys are typically very logical and think through issues pretty well, including three or four steps ahead of where other people are looking. In my experience understanding how strategic and legal issues can overlap and approaching a challenge with an objective mind is an asset to a company.  In my mind that lends itself very well to consulting with businesses in strategy and growth. Most companies can benefit from having an attorney on their team. Opportunities in mediation should only grow – litigation is simply too expensive.

How do you feel about coming back to Cincinnati?

It’s always good to eat some Skyline, LaRosa’s, goetta, and to hit Price Hill Chili while in town (we have Graeter’s in Kroger in Texas now!). I have a large extended family in Cincy and a lot of history there - so it’s always good to have an excuse to go home.