South Carolina
Regulatory profile maintained from Official state bar, court, and regulatory websites (compiled via web research 2026-09-10).
Sources verifiedVerified
Last reviewed 2026-09-10. Always confirm the current rule on the official source before acting.
Bar & Regulation
- Bar / regulatory authority
- South Carolina Bar
- Attorney registration lookup
- www.sccourts.org/clerks/AISPortal
- Rules of professional conduct
- www.scbar.org/ethics
- Ethics opinions
- www.scbar.org/lawyers/ethics-advisory-opinions…
- Ethics hotline
- Research pending
- Mandatory bar
- Research pending
- Client security fund
- www.scbar.org/public/get-legal-help/lawyers-fund-f…
Trust Accounts & Fees
- IOLTA authority
- South Carolina Bar Foundation IOLTA Program
- Trust recordkeeping rules
- Under SC RPC 1.15 and SCACR Rule 417, lawyers must maintain detailed financial books and trust account records and preserve them for a period of six years following termination of representation.
- Fee agreement requirements
- Under SC RPC 1.5, the basis or rate of the fee must be communicated to the client preferably in writing, and contingent fee agreements must be in writing signed by the client.
- Flat-fee / advance-fee treatment
- Research pending
- Limited-scope representation
- Research pending
CLE & Advertising
- Current CLE requirements
- Active attorneys must complete 14 credit hours of approved CLE annually by February 28, including at least 2 hours of legal ethics/professional responsibility and 1 hour of substance abuse/mental health every three years.
- Advertising / solicitation rules
- www.sccourts.org/courtReg
- Trade-name / firm-name rules
- Under SC RPC 7.1 and 7.5, trade names may be used if they do not contain misleading statements and do not imply a connection with a governmental agency or public/charitable legal services organization.
Practice & Remote
- Remote / virtual practice guidance
- Research pending
- Multijurisdictional / UPL rules
- Research pending
- Succession / designated-successor
- Research pending
- Malpractice insurance rules
- Research pending
- Data security / breach guidance
- Research pending
- Permitted entity types
- Research pending
Business Formation
- Secretary of State
- sos.sc.gov
- State tax department
- dor.sc.gov
- Local business registration
- Research pending
Courts & E-Filing
- State court homepage
- www.sccourts.org
- Trial court directory
- Research pending
- Appellate court directory
- Research pending
- E-filing portal
- efiling.sccourts.org
- Court forms
- www.sccourts.org/forms
- Civil procedure rules
- Research pending
- Rules of evidence
- Research pending
- Case-law search
- www.sccourts.org/opinions
- Statutes / codes
- www.scstatehouse.gov
- Regulations / admin decisions
- Research pending
Federal Courts
- Federal district courts
- Research pending
- Federal bankruptcy courts
- Research pending
- Federal court admission
- Research pending
- Pro hac vice rules
- Under SC Appellate Court Rule 404, out-of-state attorneys must associate with local counsel, file an application with the Office of Bar Admissions with the required fee, and be granted leave by the court.
Support & Resources
- Lawyer assistance / wellness
- www.scbar.org/lawyers/lawyers-helping-lawyers…
- Law libraries
- Research pending
- Practice management assistance
- Research pending
- Incubators / mentoring / referral
- Research pending
- Malpractice insurers / guidance
- Research pending
Verification record
- Review date
- 2026-09-10
- Source authority
- Official state bar, court, and regulatory websites (compiled via web research 2026-09-10)
- Status
- Verified
2026-09-10: Regulatory links and rule summaries added from official primary sources.
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