Mr. James L. Ward Jr., Member

A native of Saluda, South Carolina, Jay developed his interest in the law from hours spent observing court proceedings in the town’s courthouse. Jay began his career with two corporate defense firms, Sinkler & Boyd in Columbia, South Carolina, and Smith, Helms, Mulliss & Moore in Charlotte, North Carolina. His passion for helping people who have been wronged brought him to the plaintiffs’ practice. Experience on both sides of the courtroom gives Jay superior insight into how defendants approach cases and the strategies they employ.

In his more than 20-year career, Jay has played significant lead and liaison counsel roles in complex class action and multidistrict litigation involving pharmaceutical drugs, healthcare fraud, defective products, antitrust, and consumer protection.

Jay has also focused a large portion of his practice on the representation of states and local governments as special counsel in complex litigation. In addition, Jay has extensive experience handling a variety of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases.

Jay has two teenage children.  When not in the office, he enjoys coaching their recreational sports teams, playing competitive tennis, going to the gym, and traveling.

School	Degree	Major	Graduation
University of South Carolina School of Law	J.D.	Law School	1997
The Citadel	B.A.	Political Science	1994

State / Court	Date
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit	1999
North Carolina	1997
South Carolina	1997

• Included in The Best Lawyers in America (2018-2022) for Plaintiffs’ Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions (Charleston, SC “Lawyer of the Year” 2018 and 2021), Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury Litigation, and Plaintiffs’ Product Liability Litigation.
  Included in The Best Lawyers in America (2016-2017) for Plaintiffs’ Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions and Plaintiffs’ Product Liability Litigation.
  Included in South Carolina Super Lawyers for Class Action/Mass Torts (2020-2021).
  Recipient of South Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s Leadership in Law Award given to those within the legal community who work to better the legal profession through mentoring and involvement within their community, as well as going above and beyond in their work (2013).
  Recipient of the Silver Compleat Lawyer Award given by the University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association to recognize alumni for outstanding civic and professional accomplishments (2011).
  Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rating.
  Recipient of “Forty Under 40” award as one of the top forty community leaders under the age of forty as selected by the Charleston Regional Business Journal.
  Graduate of the ABA TIPS National Trial Academy (May 2000).

Sun.	Mon.	Tue.	Wed.	Thu.	Fri.	Sat.
	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm	9:00 am - 5:00 pm