Rhett Ricard

Rhett Ricard is known for his skills and experience in and out of the courtroom. He brings a tenacious energy and commitment to ensuring the best possible outcome for clients to every matter. 

Rhett works on a number of complex matters in a variety of fields and for a range of different clients. He provides strategic guidance and represents clients across the spectrum, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and individuals. While he advises clients through a wide array of legal challenges, at his core, Rhett is a litigator who thrives in high‑stakes disputes and trial advocacy. He has briefed, argued, and litigated cases involving partnership disputes, breach of contract, unfair trade practices, tort claims, restrictive covenants, constitutional issues, class actions, the False Claims Act, intellectual property, legislative redistricting, and land use. Rhett frequently litigates in both federal and state trial courts and is involved in a number of appeals in both South Carolina appellate courts as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Some of Rhett’s experience includes:

• Argued before the Supreme Court of South Carolina and twice before the Court of Appeals for South Carolina.
• Served as first-chair counsel for a Fortune 500 company in a state court jury trial focused on allegations of negligent herbicide application that ultimately resolved in a settlement.
• Assisted in conducting a complex internal investigation for a global data center provider involving a labor and employment issue.
• Served as sole counsel in several JAMS arbitrations on behalf of an online gaming company.
• Won summary judgment on behalf of a local municipality in a federal court case involving coastal zoning, land use, and constitutional due process.
• Settled a case on behalf of a local jewelry store wherein critical evidence was initially undisclosed and misrepresented by the opposing party but was later uncovered through diligent discovery efforts, which quickly resulted in a settlement of over twelve times the amount initially offered by the opposing party.
• Served as first-chair counsel on behalf of a local municipality in a week-long state court bench trial centered on the Dormant Commerce Clause that ultimately resolved in a settlement.
• Served as first-chair counsel in a state court jury trial concerning a partnership dispute that ultimately resolved in a settlement.
• Assisted in statewide redistricting litigation, which was ultimately resolved favorably by the Supreme Court of the United States.
• Obtained mandamus relief before the Supreme Court of South Carolina.

Before joining the firm, Rhett built his legal career in the United States Marine Corps, serving as a prosecutor on board Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. Rhett prosecuted over 60 cases, conducted 10 contested trials, and accumulated over 300 hours of trial experience, with over half as lead counsel. He successfully prosecuted a variety of felony offenses, including rape and other sexual crimes, a theft of $1.5 million worth of property, as well as narcotics use and distribution. Rhett was recognized multiple times while on active duty, from graduating 6th out of over 275 officers in his class at The Basic School to receiving the Marine Corps Trial Counsel of the Year Award for 2019, given to the best first- or second-tour prosecutor. Additionally, Rhett was hand-selected to serve as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Marine Corps installations in Beaufort County. Rhett also served on a special assignment in Norfolk, Virginia, during which time he briefed a Four-Star Admiral on multiple occasions after conducting hundreds of hours of investigation into a high-profile corruption scandal involving numerous senior Naval officers that garnered national press attention.

He began his legal career as a judicial clerk for Senior United States District Court Judge Henry M. Herlong, Jr., in Greenville, South Carolina, as well as a summer associate at a national corporate law firm. While attending the University of Virginia School of Law, Rhett thoroughly enjoyed competing in the William M. Lile Moot Court Competition, a two-year-long intramural moot court competition, in which Rhett was one of four finalists. As a law student, he also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law & Politics, which was originally founded under the guidance of then-Circuit Judge Antonin Scalia, who later served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. In his undergraduate time, Rhett demonstrated outstanding and exceptional leadership and academic aptitude and was awarded the Norris Medal, considered the most prestigious award for a Clemson University undergraduate.

Community & Professional

• Young Lawyer Representative, Federal Bar Association, South Carolina Chapter, 2026 – present
• Leadership Charleston Class of 2023
• Ninth Circuit Delegate, South Carolina Bar House of Delegates, 2022 – 2026
• Class Manager, Class of 2015, University of Virginia Law School Foundation, 2015 – present
• At-Large Member, Clemson University Young Alumni Council, 2017 – 2020

Recognition

• Charleston Business Magazine, Legal Elite of the Lowcountry, 2025
• Listed in South Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Business Litigation, 2024 – 2025
• Recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation, 2025 – present
• United States Marine Corps Trial Counsel of the Year Award, 2019
• Best Trial Advocate, 2019 Intermediate Trial Advocacy Course at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, Charlottesville, Virginia 
• Honor Roll Graduate and Meritorious Career Designation, The Basic School, Quantico, Virginia, 2017
• James M. Shoemaker, Jr., Award Recipient as a 2015 Finalist in the William M. Lile Moot Court Competition, University of Virginia School of Law
• Norris Medal, Clemson University, 2012