Joel W. Collins, Jr.

Joel W. Collins, Jr. is a founding partner of Collins & Lacy.  Upon graduation from the University of  South Carolina School of Law, Joel served four years in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAGC) of the United States Army and served one year in the Viet Nam Americal Division where he was awarded the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal.  Joel also served as an assistant professor of law at the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.   He then spent two years with the Frankfurt, Germany law firm of O’Haire and Fiore, after which he was appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, focusing on the investigation and prosecution of white-collar criminal cases. 

In 1982, after three years with the firm of Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, Joel established his own practice, which later became Collins & Lacy.  He has held numerous leadership positions in civic organizations including Rotary, National Safety Council, and the ABOTA Foundation and enjoys a variety of volunteer activities in the community.  Joel’s reputation in the courtroom and professional standing have led his peers to consider him one of South Carolina’s preeminent attorneys, according to Martindale-Hubbell. He also is named one of the Best Lawyers in America©, one of the oldest and most respected peer-reviews in the legal profession.

Click here for a detailed account of Joel's life, mission and dedicated service to South Carolina.

Practice Focus/Trial Experience

• Complex Civil Litigation
• White-Collar Criminal Defense

Professional, Civic, and Community Involvement

• University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association
  • Platinum Compleat  Lawyer Award (2005)
• Clemson University Alumni Association
  • Distinguished Service Award (2001)
• Clemson University William T. Howell Pre-Law Society
  • Founder and Alumni Advisor
• Lake Murray – Irmo Rotary Club
  • Rotarian of the Year (2002)
  • President (1996-1997)
• Best Lawyers © 2009, 2010 and 2011
• South  Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association
• National Association of Criminal Defense lawyers
• Defense Research Institute
• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Foundation
  •  Masters in Trial Award (2009) 
  • President (2008)
  • Secretary (2007) 
• South Carolina Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates
  • Jeter E. Rhodes, Jr., Trial Lawyer of the Year Award (2002)
  • Chapter President (1997-1998)
• South Carolina Chapter of the National Safety Council
  • Board of Directors (1995 – Present)
  • President (2006)
• Litigation Counsel of America 
• Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Member
• John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court, Member
• International Society of Barristers, Fellow 
• Super Lawyers
• Friends of Juvenile Justice Foundation – Champion for the Children
• International Society of Primerus Law Firms
• Salem United Methodist Church
• South Carolina Bar

Papers, Presentations, and Publications 

• Honors College Course Instructor on the history, philosophy and interpretations of the United States Constitution, including recreation of the debates during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, University of South Carolina, August 2010. Click here for the course syllabus. 
• Growing a Law Firm That Stays Together, The Primerus Paradigm, Fall 2009, 28-30
• Charles Pinckney and the Seventh Amendment, Voir Dire, Fall 2009, 4-8 
• The Advantages of the American Civil Jury Trial System,  Voir Dire, Spring 2008
• The Benefits of the American Jury System, ABOTA Foundation Conference, "Judges and Attorneys in Interaction:  The Commonalities and Differences in the Portugese and American Legal Systems," May 2008, Lisbon, Portugal
• Maymester Course Instructor on the history, philosophy, and interpretations of the United States Constitution, including recreation of the debates during the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Clemson University, May 2007
• The Saga of Marbury v. Madison, November 2006 
• The Vacancy Crisis in our Federal Courts, Voir Dire, Volume 4, Issue 4, 1997
• Junior Officer’s Guide to the Legal Aspects of Command  West Point Press, 1972