Serving the people and the businesses of South Carolina for over thirty-five years.

Attorney Profiles

Gerald M. Finkel 
North Charleston, South Carolina
Of Counsel
phone (843) 577-5460
fax (843) 577-5135
email Email Me

Mr. Finkel is the founding member and the Managing Member of Finkel Law Firm LLC. He is a past President of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association; has served as Chairman of the Insurance, Negligence and Workers Compensation Section of the South Carolina Bar and as a member of the Bar's Board of Governors. He has been a Special Judge for the Richland County Family Court and the Court of General Sessions for the Fifth Judicial Circuit. In 1981, he served on the Governor's Sentencing Guidelines Commission and the South Carolina Appellate Defense Commission. Mr. Finkel is currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the Charleston School of Law and was an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law from 1981-2006 where he taught Trial Advocacy and Insurance Law. Mr. Finkel has published extensively in the areas of Business Law, Insurance Law and Torts. He is a member of the American Law Institute where he has served on the Consultation Committees for the Restatement of Unfair Trade Practices and the Restatement of Torts 3rd.

Areas of Practice:
Commercial Litigation
Bar Admissions:
South Carolina, 1970
District of Columbia, 1973
U.S. District Court District of South Carolina, 1971
U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, 1973
U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 1972
U.S. Supreme Court, 1973
Education:
University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, South Carolina, 1970
Juris Doctor
Honors: Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence
Honors: Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award in Industries
Law Review: South Carolina Law Review, Business Manager, 1970


New York University College of Arts and Science, New York, New York, 1962
Bachelor of Arts


Published Works:
CGL Coverage and the Myth of L-J v. Bituminous Fire & Marine Ins. Company (Co-Author), South Carolina Trial Lawyer Bulletin, Fall, 2004


South Carolina Legal and Business Forms (Co-Author), Lawyers Co-op, Vols. 1 and 3, 1988


A Guide to South Carolina Torts (Co-Author), Palmetto Law Publishers, 1st ed., 1981


A Guide to South Carolina Torts II (Co-Author), S.C.T.L.A., 2nd ed., 1986


A Guide to South Carolina Torts III (Co-Author), S.C.T.L.A., 3rd ed., 1990


A Guide to South Carolina Torts IV (Co-Author), S.C.T.L.A., 4th ed., 1995


Medical Depositions and Court Appearances, Claimant's Counsel Perspective Painful Cervical Trauma (Co-Author with Williams & Wilkins), 1990


Survey of Damages, 21 S.C.L. Rev. 552, 1968


Effective Deposition Techniques, ALI-ABA Study Materials Federal Discovery Practice No. 3537, May, 1980


Trends in Liability - Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress, 4 S.C.T.L.A. Bulletin, July/August, 1980


Videotape Depositions, ALI-ABA Study Materials, Federal Discovery Practice No. C686, November, 1982


Educating Laymen on Legal Fictions, Intangibles, and Other Ethereal Concepts, 28 S.C.T.L.A. Convention Program 350, 1985


Cases and Materials on South Carolina Insurance Law, U.S.C. Press, Supplemented annually, 1988


Insurance Law, S.C. Bar Review, Revised Annually


Property Insurance Issues in the Aftermath of Hurrican Hugo (Co-Author), South Carolina Lawyer, S.C. Bar, Sept/Oct, 1990


The Coast is Clear; Lucas Court Sheds Light on Regulatory Takings (Co-Author), 2 S.C. Env. L. J. 28, U.S.C. Press, 1992


Stacking of Liability Coverage: Unstacked, South Carolina Lawyer, S.C. Bar, May/June, 1998


Representative Cases:
Lucas v. The South Carolina Coastal Council, 112 S.Ct. 2886, 120 L.E. 2d 798 (1992)
City of Folly Beach v. Atlantic House Properties, 458 S.E.2d 426 (1995)
Kores Nordic (USA) Corp. v. Sinkler, Gibbs & Simons, 327 S.E.2d 365 (1985)
Interstate Securities Corp. v. Costantino, 72 B.R. 189 (1987)
Chester County Hospital & Nursing Center v. Martin, 314 S.E.2d 308 (1984)
In re: Allen University, 497 F.2d 346 (1974)
Mims v. Kemp, 516 F.2d 21 (1975)
Mims v. Yarborough, 343 F.Supp., 343 F.Supp. 1146, 461 F.2d 1266 (1972)
Classes/Seminars Taught:
Regulatory Takings Development Since Lucas, Eminent Domain Seminar CLE International, February 28, 2005 - March 1, 2005


Insurer's Duty to Defend, South Carolina Bar Convention, January 22, 2005


Trial Strategy-The Beginning of The End "Bad Faith Litigation in South Carolina", National Business Institute, Columbia, South Carolina, December 16, 2004


"I Did It - Pay Me Anyway!" - Special Problems in Automobile Insurance, S.C. Bar Convention, January 24, 2004


Regulatory Takings Since Lucas, Takings Conference, Albany Law School, April 4, 2003 - April 5, 2003


What Is An Occurrence?, Charleston County Bar Association, October 18, 2001


How to Successfully Make and Manage Objections at Trial in South Carolina, National Business Institute, March 23, 2001


Second Annual Governor's Summit on Growth, Property Rights Speech, March 12, 2001


Insuring Mother Nature, Disaster Relieg: Advising Victims after the Dust Settles, S.C. Bar C.L.E., September 4, 1998


Earthquake Insurance: Disaster Legal Assistance, ABA/FEMA, December 13, 1991 - December 14, 1991


The Law of Seat Belt Defense, S.C.T.L.A. Criminal Law and Automobile Torts Seminar, October 14, 1977


The Damages Settlement Package, S.C. Bar Damages Seminar, March 25, 1977


Federal Discovery Techniques, S.C.T.L.A. Convention Program, 1978


Federal Civil Procedure, S.C. Bar, Basic Skills Course, November 2, 1979


Juvenile Defense, S.C. Bar Judicial C.L.E. Seminar, November 16, 1979


Federal Discovery, ALI-ABA Seminar, May 23, 1980


Sources and Preparation of Expert Witnesses, S.C. Bar Trial Advocacy Series, August 29, 1980


Exceptions to the Hearsay Rule, S.C. Bar Judicial C.L.E. Seminar, August 8, 1980


Trustee Litigation: Jurisdiction, Removal Venue and Jury Trials in Bankruptcy Proceedings, U.S.C. Law School and Seminar Series-Bankruptcy Clinic, Fall, 1981


Mechanics Liens under the Bankruptcy Code "Construction Law/Mechanics Lien Seminar", S.C. Bar C.L.E. Program, June 18, 1982


Preference Litigation, Richland County Bar, January 5, 1983


Negotiation and Counseling Skills for Lawyers, Professional Institute's Second Annual Law and Psychology Seminar, Montego Bay, Jamaica, January 26, 1983 - January 30, 1983


Attorneys' Fees as Damages "Damages and Remedies", S.C. Bar C.L.E. Program, February 7, 1986


Attorneys' Fees, University of South Carolina School of Law, C.L.E., November 1, 1986


Speaker, Advocacy in Civil and Criminal Trials, Young Lawyers Program, S.C. Bar Midyear Convention, 1986


Banking Law Seminar, Southern National Bank, June 18, 1987


Lender Liability Seminar, The Bank Administration Institute - S.C. Chapter, November 12, 1987


From the Medical Record to the Deposition, Richland Memorial Surgical Grand Rounds, March 5, 1988


Depositions in Civil Litigation, William S.Hall, Psychiatric Institute, South Carolina Department of Mental Health, May 28, 1988


Utilization of Computers by the Trial Lawyer, The John Belton O'Neall Inns of Court Program, October 20, 1988


Charts, Drawings and Blackboards, Practical Evidence for Trial Attorneys, S.C.Bar, June 9, 1989


The Lawyers Perspective; Insurance Law; Agent Responsibilty; Flood, Wind, Rain and Hail, Hugo Related Hurricane issues, S.C.Bar, December 8, 1989


The Lawyers Perspective; Insurance Law; Agent Responsibilty; Flood, Wind, Rain and Hail, Hugo Related Hurricane issues, Charleston Country Bar, October 27, 1989


The Lawyers Perspective; Insurance Law; Agent Responsibilty; Flood, Wind, Rain and Hail, Hugo Related Hurricane issues, South Carolina Legal Services Association, December 4, 1989


The Lawyers Perspective; Insurance Law; Agent Responsibilty; Flood, Wind, Rain and Hail, Hugo Related Hurricane issues, South Carolina Legal Services Association, December 11, 1989 - December 12, 1989


The Physician as a Witness, Richland Memorial Hospital Department of Surgery, September 11, 1990


Lender Liability Commercial Law Seminar, First Union National Bank of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, September 11, 1990


Lender Liability Commercial Law Seminar, First Union National Bank of South Carolina, Greenville, South Carolina, September 25, 1990


Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition Banquet, Columbia, South Carolina, March 21, 1993


Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 3rd Annual Maine Conservation Rights Congress, Bangor, Marine, April 24, 1993


Property Rights and the Courts, Clemson University's College of Forest & Recreation Resources Teleconference, Forest Farmers Association, South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, September 21, 1993


Property Rights and the Courts, Clemson University's College of Forest & Recreation Resources Teleconference, South Carolina Forestry Association in Cooperation with Society of American Foresters, S.C.Department of Agriculture, September 21, 1993


Property Rights and the Courts, Clemson University's College of Forest & Recreation Resources Teleconference, S.C.Forestry Commission, S.C.Sportsmen's Coalition, September 21, 1993


Contradictory Relationships Between Government Laws and Property Rights, "A Day of Environmental Education", Natural Resources Foundation of Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, January 14, 1994


Lucas v.South Carolina Coastal Council, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association's 117th Annual Convention, Fort Worth, Texas, March 29, 1994


Professional Associations and Memberships:
American Law Institute
Member


American Bar Association
Member


South Carolina Bar
Member


Richland County Bar Association
Member


Supreme Court Historical Society
Member


South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
Member


Finkel Law Firm LLC

Columbia Office:

Address: 1201 Main Street
Suite 1800
P.O. Box 1799
Columbia, SC 29202
Phone: (803) 765-2935
Fax: (803) 252-0786
E-mail: E-mail Us

Charleston Office:

Address: 3955 Faber Place Drive, Suite 200
North Charleston, SC 29405
Phone: (843) 577-5460

Litigation, Real Estate & REO

P.O. Box 225
Charleston, SC 29402
Phone: (843) 577-5460
Fax: (843) 577-5135

Foreclosure

P.O. Box 71727
North Charleston, SC 29415
Phone: (843) 577-5460
Fax: (843) 725-0015