[1][2] He also represented hundreds of homeowners in lawsuits against insurance companies following Hurricane Katrina,[2] and a national class action of patients against HMOs in the early 2000s.

[9] The Fall of the House of Zeus: The Rise and Ruin of America's Most Powerful Trial Lawyer, by veteran journalist Curtis Wilkie, was published in 2010.

Upon graduation and commissioning as a naval officer, Scruggs entered flight training and earned his wings as an A6 bomber pilot in 1970.

[12] One of his first big legal victories was in representing workers at the Pascagoula shipyard who became fatally ill as a result of exposure to asbestos fibers.

State Auditor Steve Patterson felt the arrangement was unethical, as Moore had no specific legal authority to contract out the work of his office to private attorneys and Scruggs had donated $20,000 to his 1991 campaign fund.

In 1992, Patterson began working with the Hinds County district attorney to build a criminal case against Moore and Scruggs.

[14] In the 1990s, Scruggs was hired by Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore to assist with a lawsuit against thirteen tobacco companies for state-borne health care costs.

[3][15][17] The total in fees Scruggs received resulted in public controversy regarding the amount that lawyers are allowed to take from large settlements.

Scruggs stated that his firm held a reserve to help challenge future cases and cover costs, allowing additional financial leverage in addressing the legal infractions of major corporations.

[19] In June 2004, Scruggs also led a lawsuit against 13 non-profit hospital groups, alleging they hoarded funds gained from tax breaks while dispensing inadequate care.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Scruggs filed a number of lawsuits against insurance companies regarding payment on claims made for storm damage.

[23] In 2003, Scruggs tried and won a national class action against Lehman Brothers, with a verdict of $51 million for financing a predatory lending scheme.

According to allegations that later surfaced in a criminal prosecution, Scruggs was involved in an attempt to bribe Mississippi Third Circuit Court Judge Henry L. Lackey with $40,000 in exchange for a favorable ruling in the fee dispute.

[25] Scruggs, who was later recorded saying he would “take care of” what he was told was a request from the judge for an additional payment, pleaded guilty in Federal Court on March 14, 2008.

[29] On February 10, 2009, Scruggs pleaded guilty in federal court in Aberdeen, Mississippi, to one count of that indictment charging mail fraud in the corruption of a public official.

Judge Glen H. Davidson imposed his sentence and quoted the Scottish philosopher William Barclay: "The Romans had a proverb that money was like sea water.