Private-client counsel in CharlestonCharleston, SC
Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves Charleston and the surrounding area.
Clients across Charleston rely on Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV for dependable, professional service.
The whole practice, close to home.
Every practice area is available to Charleston clients — drafted by a partner, with home and evening appointments arranged whenever your own table is the easier place to plan.
- Free ConsultationExpert free consultation in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- Personal InjuryExpert personal injury in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- Family LawExpert family law in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- Estate PlanningExpert estate planning in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- Business LawExpert business law in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- Real Estate LawExpert real estate law in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- Criminal DefenseExpert criminal defense in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- ImmigrationExpert immigration in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
- Contract ReviewExpert contract review in Charleston. Licensed, insured, upfront pricing.
Other places we serve.
- North CharlestonLaw Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves North Charleston and the surrounding area.
- James Island PleasantLaw Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves James Island Pleasant and the surrounding area.
- West AshleyLaw Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves West Ashley and the surrounding area.
- SummervilleLaw Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves Summerville and the surrounding area.
- Goose CreekLaw Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves Goose Creek and the surrounding area.
- James IslandLaw Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves James Island and the surrounding area.
Serious injury in Charleston does not wait for a convenient week. Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV takes personal injury and related matters from 8 Chalmers Street, working with people in the French Quarter, South of Broad, Harleston Village, and Ansonborough who need a lawyer to screen the case, name the deadlines, and say whether the firm can help. The opening meeting is a free consultation: a case screening, not unpaid drafting of a demand letter and not a pitch dressed up as advice.
The files that come through that door are often the hard ones. Admiralty, amputation injuries, auto and trucking accidents, medical malpractice, premises and products liability, state and federal tort claims, traumatic brain injuries, and wrongful death are the matters this small firm is known to take, including work other local attorneys send over when the harm is complex. If the injury involves lifetime paralysis, electrocution, a traumatic brain injury, or a severed limb, the work is investigation and analysis first, then court when the matter requires it. People in North Charleston, James Island Pleasant, West Ashley, James Island, and Johns Island reach the same lawyers. The peninsula office is the hub, not a wall.
Gedney M. Howe IV leads a practice that began with Gedney M. Howe Jr. and continued through Gedney M. Howe III, with Alvin J. Hammer, AV rated by Martindale Hubbell, and Michael A. Monastra on the team. Clients already on a file talk about calls and texts returned, questions answered without hesitation, and being treated like family. Book an appointment if you can. Online scheduling is offered, onsite meetings are available, and the office has a wheelchair accessible entrance, parking, and restroom, with free lot and street parking. The first hour is for fit and next steps, not a claim that one firm handles every legal problem in South Carolina.
How we work in Charleston
Free Consultation
A free consultation for a Charleston personal injury or family law question is a case screening. You should leave knowing whether the firm can take the matter, which deadlines matter, and where paid work would start. It is not free contract drafting, not a written demand, and not unlimited legal advice on a stack of papers you bring in.
Personal Injury
Charleston personal injury work here is built for serious harm: auto and truck collisions, premises liability, products, malpractice, admiralty, traumatic brain injury, and wrongful death. Insurance saying it accepts liability is not the same as paying for future care. A consult can walk through documented damages and the personal injury settlement process without promising a larger check.
Family Law
Divorce, custody, child support, and alimony in Charleston Family Court get a straight talk about conflict level, discovery depth, and emergency motions, because those are what make a matter expensive. The consult can be free. The representation is not. Phased scopes let you pause instead of watching a retainer vanish with no map.
Estate Planning
Estate planning for Charleston households is about documents that match the people who actually inherit, not a generic packet. Wills, powers, and related papers are paid work after the consult confirms fit. If the real problem is a catastrophic injury that changed the family’s future, that injury file may need to lead.
Business Law
Business law questions from peninsula shops and professional practices usually start with a contract, a dispute, or a breach already in motion. The free consultation is to see whether the firm is the right counsel, not to rewrite the deal on the spot. Paid engagement is where drafting, negotiation, and court work begin.
Real Estate Law
Real estate legal services for Charleston property, from South of Broad to Harleston Village, cover the paper that moves title and the fights that follow a deal gone wrong. Closings, contract problems, and related disputes are not folded into a free consult. Bring the documents. The screening tells you what must be paid work.
Criminal Defense
Criminal defense for a Charleston charge is its own track, separate from an injury claim even when both grow out of the same night. The consult screens the allegation and next court dates. It does not replace hiring counsel before a hearing, and it does not invent an outcome.
Immigration
Immigration matters for Charleston families and workers are screened for fit like any other file. Status questions, filings, and hearings are paid representation once the firm agrees it can help. A free consultation will not complete forms or promise a result at the government window.
Contract Review
Contract review is paid legal work. If you arrived thinking a free consultation means a line-by-line markup of a lease, a release, or a demand letter, that is where the consult stops and an engagement would start. The screening can still tell you whether the paper is even in this firm’s lane.
Charleston questions, answered
What does a free consultation actually include for a Charleston injury or family case?
It is a case-fit conversation: facts, deadlines, and whether Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV can help. It is not free drafting, not a finished legal opinion on your contract, and not a substitute for hiring counsel. You should leave with next steps and a clear line between screening and paid work.
If the insurer already accepted liability after a Charleston crash, do I still need a lawyer?
Acceptance of liability is not a full accounting of medical bills, future care, or liens. Early offers often arrive before those numbers exist. A consult can compare the offer to documented damages without guaranteeing a higher payout. Some clear, small claims may not need counsel. Catastrophic harm usually does.
How do a contingency fee, medical liens, and case costs change what I take home?
On a contingency file, the fee, case costs, and medical liens all come out of the recovery, and the order of those deductions is set in a written fee agreement before you hire anyone. Ask whether the percentage comes out before or after costs. No win, no fee talks about the attorney fee, not the bills you already owe providers.
Do I have to come to 8 Chalmers Street for the first meeting?
The office is on Chalmers Street, with free lot and street parking and a wheelchair accessible entrance. Online appointments and onsite services are offered, and an appointment is recommended. If getting downtown is hard, say so on the first call so the firm can tell you what meeting options it actually has.
Whether at our table or yours, Charleston counsel is a call away.
One unhurried hour with a partner — a plain reading of where you stand, and a written fee if you would like our help.
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