Meet the Firm
The Finney Law Firm, Inc. is located in Columbia, South Carolina. We are committed to providing effective legal representation to our clients throughout South Carolina.
Please explore our website for more information about us and our practice. Attorney Finney is a Member of The South Carolina Bar Association, The South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association, The Richland County Bar Association, The American Trial Lawyers Association, and The National Bar Association.
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Jerry Leo Finney, Sr.
CEO and Attorney at Law
jlfinney@bellsouth.net
Jerry Leo Finney, Sr. is a native of Sumter and a graduate of Sumter High. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama and he is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Law School. He began his legal rofession as a law clerk in 1988 with Swerling & Harpootlian and he later worked with other local firms to include Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough and the McNair Law Firm. Later he joined the Solicitor’s Office in Lexington County as an Assistant Solicitor where he served as a prosecutor for several years.
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In 1996, Attorney Finney joined Suggs & Kelly Law Firm and practiced law including personal injury, criminal defense and family law. After a few years, Mr. Finney decided to step out on his own and venture into sole proprietorship of the Finney Law Firm in July 1999 and incorporated as The Finney Law Firm, Inc. in 2001.
Areas of Practice:
| • State & Federal Criminal Defense |
• Wills and Estate Law |
• Wrongful Death |
| • Automobile Accidents |
• On The Job Injuries |
• Personal Injury |
• Workers’ Compensation |
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Bar Admissions:
South Carolina, 1984
U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit
South Carolina Supreme Court
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Education:
University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, South Carolina, 1991
Juris Doctorate, Talladega College, Talladega, Alabama, 1986, B.A.,
Political Science
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Professional Associations and Memberships:
Member of The South Carolina Bar Association, The South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association, The Richland County Bar Association, The American Trial Lawyers Association, and The National Bar Association. |
Past Employment Positions:
Swerling & Harpootlian, Columbia, South Carolina, Law Clerk, Nelson, Mullins, Riley, & Scarborough, Columbia, South Carolina, Law Clerk,
McNair Law Firm, Columbia, South Carolina, Law Clerk, Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Lexington, South Carolina, Solicitor,
Suggs & Kelly Law Firm, Columbia, South Carolina, Attorney
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Ernest A. Finney Jr.
of Counsel
Retired Chief Justice Ernest A. Finney Jr., of Counsel Ernest A. Finney Jr. was born on March 23, 1931, in Smithfield, Virginia. He graduated from Claflin College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1952. In 1954, Judge Finney graduated from The South Carolina StateUniversity School of Law with a Juris Doctoral Degree, and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar that same year. After graduating, he taught school in the public schools of Conway for five years. In 1960, he and his family moved to Sumter, where he began his law practice, specializing in civil rights advocacy and defense.
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Elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1972, Judge Finney became the first African American to serve on the House Judiciary Committee in modern time. He was one of the Founders of the Legislative Black Caucus and served as its charter Chairman from 1973 to 1975. When he was elected to a judgeship in South Carolina’s Third Circuit Court on July 22, 1976, Judge Finney became the State’s first African-American Circuit Court judge. He was elected to the South Carolina Supreme Court in 1985; and on May 11, 1994, he became the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, a position he held with distinction until his retirement from the bench on March 23, 2000.
During his many years of public service, Judge Finney has been a member of the American Law Institute, the American Judges Association, the Conference of Chief Justices, the American and National Bar Associations, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the NAACP, and the Graduate National College of State Trial Judges, to name a few. Also, he has served as chairman of both the Board of Directors of Buena Vista Development Corporation and the Board of Trustees of Claflin University. Most recently, Judge Finney served one year as the Interim President of South Carolina State University, stepping down July 1, 2003.
Honors conferred upon Judge Finney include the Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Claflin University; the Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from The Citadel, Johnson C. Smith Universities, and Morris College; the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the College of Charleston and South Carolina State University; as well as Honorary Doctorates from Wofford College, Francis Marion University, and the University of South Carolina. In 1998, he was inducted into the National Black College Hall of Fame, and he was awarded the South Carolina Order of the Palmetto in 1994.
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