CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Eight South Carolina attorneys made Forbes 2025 America’s Best-in-State Lawyers list, including five from the Charleston area.
Former state elected officials Richard “Dick” Harpootlian and Bakari Sellers made the list, along with John Lay, a partner at Gallivan, White and Boyd in Columbia.
The five remaining spots were all occupied by attorneys practicing in Charleston or Mount Pleasant, including Motley Rice founder Joseph F. Rice and member Jodi Westbrook Flowers.
See Forbes’ full list and brief profiles below:
- David S. Cobb – Shareholder, Turner Padget (Charleston), tried numerous jury cases to verdict in state and federal courts
- Molly Craig – Partner, Hood Law Firm (Charleston), handled appeals in state and federal courts, including the US Supreme Court
- GP Diminich – Managing Partner, Shumaker (Charleston), certified specialist in taxation law, estate planning, and probate law representing high-net-worth individuals, corporations, and privately held businesses
- Jodi Westbrook Flowers – Member, Motley Rice (Mount Pleasant), represents public entities seeking to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable for deceptive practices and handles cases regarding state-sponsorship of international terrorism
- Richard Harpootlian – Founder, Harpootlian Attorneys at Law (Columbia), 30 years of trial experience with numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements
- John T. Lay, Jr. – Partner, Gallivan, White and Boyd (Columbia), more than 25 years of experience managing complex, high-stakes litigation
- Joseph F. Rice – Founder, Motley Rice (Mount Pleasant), served as co-lead negotiator for plaintiffs in reaching two settlements with BP, including one of the largest civil class action settlements in US history
- Bakari Sellers – Attorney, Strom Law Firm (Columbia), wrote New York Times bestseller My Vanishing Country, political commentator for CNN, represented families of the Emanuel 9
Practice areas varied with Craig, Flowers, Harpootlian, Rice, and Sellers all working mainly in civil litigation, Cobb in construction litigation, Diminich in private wealth, and Lay in commercial litigation.
Rice was previously listed on Forbes’ America’s Top Lawyers in 2024…