January 30, 2024 // Diocese

Attorney Retires After 37 Years of Service to the Diocese

Scott Warden

Editor-In-Chief

Scott Hall was no stranger to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend before graduating law school. The Fort Wayne native was raised in a Catholic family, attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School on the city’s south side, then graduated from nearby Bishop Luers High School. This background in the faith laid the foundation for a career serving the Church in northeast Indiana.

“After 37 years of dedicated service as attorney to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Scott Hall has announced his retirement,” Father Mark Gurtner, Vicar General of the diocese, said in a letter to priests and diocesan employees. “We are most grateful for all the years of generous and skillful work for the diocese and wish him all the best and God’s blessing in his retirement.”

Scott Hall will be retiring from service as the legal counsel for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

After graduating from Bishop Luers, Hall earned his bachelor’s degree from New College of California in 1977. He graduated from the Indiana University School of Law in December of 1985. In February of 1986, he was hired by the Fort Wayne law firm Gallucci, Hopkins, and Theisen, which had been retained by then-Bishop John D’Arcy to provide legal services.

“The lead diocesan legal counsel was Gallucci, Hopkins, and Theisen’s founder, and my mentor, Frank Gallucci,” Hall told Today’s Catholic. “As best as I can recall it, Frank assigned me to do work on diocesan matters from the very beginning of my career, and the level of my involvement continued to grow through the years. Ultimately, after Frank Gallucci’s retirement, I morphed into the diocesan legal counsel role.”

Hall said it’s been a blessing to have the opportunity to intertwine his work life and spiritual life.

“I’ve always considered my legal work for the diocese to be a form of ministry, doing what I am able in the legal arena to help facilitate the diocese’s ability to undertake the salvation of souls,” he said. “As an ‘insider,’ I have been blessed with the opportunity to have worked with both Bishop D’Arcy and Bishop Rhoades on a personal level. My interactions through the years with legal counsel for some other dioceses around the country gives me a unique understanding of just how lucky our diocese is, and how much easier my work for the diocese has been, due to the guidance of Bishops D’Arcy and Rhoades. Having the benefit of being able to work with them, other dedicated members of our diocesan clergy, and many of the diocese’s employees through the years has been very rewarding – so many wonderful people all dedicated to the same cause.”

Hall, a parishioner at Queen of Angels in Fort Wayne, said retirement will afford him a chance to spend more time with Andy, his wife of 42 years, and their five adult children.

“Nothing specific is planned,” he said about his immediate future, “which is a little scary having been in a structured work mode for most of my adult life. On the other hand, the prospect of having the opportunity to find things to do and go places without constantly checking for emails and taking calls is exciting. I believe that Andy and I will enjoy it.”

Hall said that representing the diocese throughout his career provided a little extra motivation in his work. “You don’t want to have dropped the ball on something you are doing for the Church when you are later looking to gain entry through the pearly gates,” he joked.