A founding partner and four other lawyers at a Mount Pleasant-based law firm, which represents plaintiffs in complex personal injury cases, have established a rival practice.
The five lawyers were previously with Richardson Patrick Westbrook & Brickman, who was renamed Rogers Patrick Westbrook & Brickman in late January.
The newly formed firm is Richardson Thomas Haltiwanger Moore & Lewis, which has offices in Aiken, Barnwell, Columbia and Florence, according to a statement written Tuesday.
Its founding partners include veteran South Carolina attorney Terry Richardson, who was a longtime litigator and a partner at former firm Ness Motley who helped negotiate the historic $ 206 billion deal with the tobacco industry in 1998.
He was also among 13 lawyers and 40 employees who left this practice – in what was described as a divorce, with money litigation – to establish Richardson Patrick Westbrook & Brickman in 2002.
His new company is based in Columbia. He said he would focus on representing plaintiffs and working with other lawyers in cases of collective action and others involving product liability, vehicle accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice and complaints litigation.
Richardson’s partners are Brady Thomas, Dan Haltiwanger, Chris Moore and Will Lewis.
“We are all excited and energized by this new venture,” said Thomas in a statement. “The five of us have worked together in the past and look forward to this professional journey.”
A Rogers representative Patrick Westbrook & Brickman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday about the division’s impact. The company’s website shows that it has 25 lawyers in offices in Aiken, Charleston, Columbia, Mount Pleasant and southern Illinois.
Contact John McDermott at 843-937-5572 or follow him on Twitter at @byjohnmcdermott