Carl B. Epps, III is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia.  He practices in the areas of business and real estate litigation, product liability, mass torts and class actions.

 

Mr. Epps has served as coordinating trial counsel for clients on a national and regional level. In 2005, the South Carolina Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates named Mr. Epps Trial Lawyer of the Year. He has extensive experience in both federal and state courts, and has been an active trial lawyer throughout his career.  He has represented clients in, among other areas of litigation, banking disputes, directors and officers' liability, professional negligence claims, chemical exposures, real estate development, product liability, and a variety of other forms of litigation.  He has represented litigation clients in numerous jurisdictions and has been lead counsel in approximately 100 cases that have gone to verdict. In 1996, Mr. Epps received the Robert M. Hemphill Award, given by the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association for distinguished and meritorious service to the legal profession and the public. In 2000, he received the Compleat Lawyer Award, given by the University of South Carolina School of Law for significant contributions to the legal professional by a graduate who embraces the highest standard of professional competence, ethics and integrity. Mr. Epps frequently speaks on subjects related to his areas of practice and has served as a faculty member for an International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy. Mr. Epps is listed in Who's Who in American Law, South Carolina Super Lawyers, and in The Best Lawyers in America.  

Mr. Epps is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Bar Association, the American Board of Trial Advocates (president, Columbia-Greenville Chapter, 1991), and The Supreme Court Historical Society. As a member of the Defense Research Institute, he has held numerous positions of leadership, including the following: chair, Corporate Roundtable, 2002; chair, Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee, 1997-99; board member, 1995-98; chair, Law Economics Committee, 1994-95; regional vice president, 1994-95; and South Carolina state chair, 1987-94. Mr. Epps is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Richland County Bar Association, the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association (president, 1987-88); and Trial Attorneys of America.

 

A member of the South Carolina Bar for more than 30 years, Mr. Epps is admitted to practice before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

 

In 1970, Mr. Epps earned a Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law. During law school, he was secretary-treasurer, and later president of the law school student body, a member of the Order of Wig and Robe, Phi Delta Phi, and a member of the board of editors of the South Carolina Law Review. Before entering law school, Mr. Epps worked for Ciba Pharmaceutical Company. In 1966, Mr. Epps earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina.