Sciascia, Joseph Gerald

William D. Herlong - AV-Rated* Greenville, South Carolina Lawyer

William Herlong is one of Greenville's premier litigators. Since starting his own practice five years ago, he has achieved more than $11,000,000 in settlements and verdicts for his clients. These cases range from accidents with serious personal injuries to complex business disputes.

He is one of only a handful of lawyers in Greenville and Upstate South Carolina to be Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy by the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification (NBLSC). The NBLSC is a non-profit organization accredited by the American Bar Association whose responsibility is to certify that attorneys are specially qualified in areas in which they seek to practice. In order to be certified one must meet rigorous experience requirements, ethical requirements, and demonstrate via testing one's competence. Unlike many organizations, one does not simply pay a fee to join. Those attorneys who are certified in their various fields have proven competency, not just to themselves but to their peers in the Bar and those serving as Judges. One of the objectives of the NBLSC is for the members of the public to feel confident that, when hiring a Board Certified attorney, they are getting quality representation, not because their attorney said so, but because the attorney's peers say so. (See http://www.nblsc.us/public_information/.)

William has also the rating of "AV Preeminent" (a "5.0 out of 5") rating - the highest possible rating - from the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory Martindale ratings reflect the confidential opinions of bar members and the judiciary, and attest to the individual lawyer's legal ability and adherence to professional standards of ethics. Ratings are accepted as exceptionally valuable benchmarks by members of the legal community, and testify to the unique and respected position the Law Directory occupies in the legal profession. They are intended for the use of lawyers and law firms in the practice of their profession. The Legal Ability Ratings (C, B, A) take into consideration the standard of ability for the area where the lawyer practices, the attorney's expertise, nature of practice and qualifications relevant to the profession. The General-Ethical Standards Rating (V) covers adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities. In the United States, 43% of the active bar is rated. A CV Rating is an excellent first Rating and a statement of a lawyer's above average ability and very high ethics. A BV Rating is an indication of an exemplary reputation and well-established practice. A typical lawyer is in mid-career, with a significant client base and high professional standing. An AV Rating shows that a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is ranked by his peers at the highest level of professional excellence.

Finally, William is also a member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum was established in 1993 and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum in 2008. These are among the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorneys who have won million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. There are approximately 3,000 members throughout the country, fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers. Each member has demonstrated, in an objective and tangible way, his or her ability to accomplish superior results in complex cases. Certification by the Million Dollar Advocates Forum provides recognition of such accomplishment and a national network of experienced colleagues for information exchange, assistance and professional referral.

Apart from the practice of law, William has been listed as high as number 9 on Greenville Magazine's annual list of the 50 Most Influential people in the area.

William does not accept many cases. Indeed, he limits his practice to cases that for one reason or another he feels very strongly about, cases that fully engage his passion. When he does accept a case, he is dedicated to obtaining the best possible result for the client. He goes "all-in."

If you would like to schedule a free initial consultation, call me today at 864-640-4328 or contact my office online.

Background

William grew up in Saluda, SC, and has practiced law in Greenville since 1989. He has tried approximately 100 cases, mostly to juries, involving everything from personal injuries including death and dismemberment to business disputes, patent challenges, employment disputes, and claims of professional malpractice. His trials and arbitrations have lasted up to thirty days and involved hundreds of millions of dollars in dispute.

Until 2004, he practiced in the "big firm" environment. In June of that year he left a successful practice with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough (over 300 lawyers), where he was an partner, to start his own practice.

Before NMRS, he had been General Counsel and then CEO of a startup Internet company, and before that a partner with Wyche, Burgess, Freeman & Parham in Greenville. In the first years of my practice, he was an associate attorney at Covington & Burling in Washington, DC, and before that a law clerk for the Honorable James B. McMillan, United States District Court Judge, in Charlotte, N.C.

He received his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago in 1985. During law school he was Articles Editor of the Northwestern University Law Review, and a member of The Order of the Coif. He earned a B.A. in Biochemistry, with High Distinction, from the University of Virginia in 1981. He was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1985, the District of Columbia Bar in 1986 (currently inactive), and the South Carolina Bar in 1990. He is also a member of the bars of Supreme Court of the United States, the Courts of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit, the Fourth Circuit & the Federal Circuit, the U.S. District Courts for the District of South Carolina, the Western and Middle Districts of North Carolina, and the District of Columbia.

He served on the Board of Trustees for the School District of Greenville County from 1998 through 2006, one of the more difficult but rewarding things around. The district serves close to 70,000 students and has an annual operating budget approaching $500 million. His biggest role there was helping the District find a way to rebuild and upgrade all of the schools. We were ultimately very successful.

(See http://www.trianglecommunitycoalition.org/docs/AmericanSchoolBoard.pdf)

Indeed, it was substantially because of his work on the School Board that William was ranked at number 9 on Greenville Magazine's list of the 50 most influential people in the area in 2002.