James R. Snell, Jr.

Attorney

Mr. Snell has tried cases to verdict in all types of South Carolina courts including General Sessions, Common Pleas, Probate, Family Court, and the Administrative Law Court. He has argued before the South Carolina Supreme Court as well as the South Carolina Court of Appeals. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, and has even received a 10/10 "Superb" rating from Avvo. He accepts criminal cases in all South Carolina counties. Mr. Snell offers a free consultation to those who are under investigation or who have been arrested for any South Carolina crime.

James Snell literally wrote the book in South Carolina on DUI Defense. His book, South Carolina DUI Defense, the Law and Practice, is published by Lawyers and Judges publishing company and is widely used by attorneys throughout South Carolina.

He is experienced in DUI defense in cases ranging from traffic court level first offense DUI through felony DUI with death. He has obtained results to include dismissals, favorable reductions, and not-guilty verdicts in a variety of cases, including those involving high blood alcohol content or accidents. Although no lawyer can ever promise you a result in your specific case, his policy is that if your charge is not dismissed or reduced to your satisfaction, he will not hesitate to fully contest all aspects of it in court.

Mr. Snell is a member of the National College of DUI Defense. This organization presents some of the finest DUI defense courses in the country. As a member, Mr. Snell attends national-caliber DUI defense training on an annual basis and has completed the National College of DUI Defense’s intensive summer session held at the Harvard Law School.

These seminars are in addition to other criminal defense and DUI law programs presented by the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the South Carolina Bar Association, and the Lexington County Bar Association. Additionally, Mr. Snell has been a presenter in DUI law for both other attorneys to fulfill their Continuing Legal Education requirements and in 2016 presented at a training seminar for approximately 80 Magistrate Court judges on the topic of DUI law. In 2022 he was a featured presenter for the South Carolina Investigator’s Association at their annual conference in Columbia, South Carolina, speaking on the topic of South Carolina DUI law.

In addition, he has completed a training course in DUI Detection and Field Sobriety Testing based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration curriculum. This is the same type of training provided to South Carolina police officers as the foundation of DUI investigative techniques. He also completed and passed subsequent training in the area of drug-impaired driving called Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement. Mr. Snell was selected as a 2017 “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers, and subsequently has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer”. This designation is made after a multi-step peer evaluation process where other attorneys nominated and evaluated Mr. Snell’s credentials and reputation. His office has also been selected for multiple consecutive years as a “Best of” in the area of criminal defense by readers of Lexington Life magazine, and also the Lexington Chronicle newspaper.

Mr. Snell's Services

• Listen to you to understand your circumstances and your goals
• Give you honest answers to your questions and a realistic assessment of your case
• Only work to achieve your goals and objectives, and not that of the police or prosecution
• Remain accessible to you throughout the duration of your case

Professional Associations and Memberships

• National Trial Lawyers Association, Top 100 South Carolina Criminal Defense Lawyer and
• National College for DUI Defense, General Member
• American Association for Justice, Member
• South Carolina Association for Justice, Member
• South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Member
• Lexington County Bar Association, Past-President
• South Carolina Bar Fee Dispute Board, Circuit Chairman
• Certified South Carolina Circuit Court Mediator
• Certified South Carolina Circuit and Family Court Arbitrator

Areas of Practice

• Criminal Defense
• Driving Under the Influence
• Juvenile Defense
• Appeals & Post Conviction Relief
• Drug Offenses
• Corporate Compliance
• Criminal Domestic Violence
• Federal Offenses
• University Student Defense
• Child Abuse
• Civil Litigation
• Embezzlement
• Tax Evasion
• White Collar Crimes
• Serious Personal Injury
• Wrongful Death

Education

University of South Carolina, School of Law

• Columbia, South Carolina
• J.D. Law

Harvard University

• Cambridge, Massachusetts
• A.L.M. (Master’s) in the Field of Management

Limestone College

• Gaffney, South Carolina
• B.S. Business Administration and Computer Science

Community Involvement

Mr. Snell and his office are actively involved in local affairs. Mr. Snell served as a member of the Board of Building Code Appeals. He was previously a member of the Alumni Board of Directors for Limestone College. He was past president of the Lexington County Bar Association and served for a number of years as the CLE chair coordinating continuing legal education programs for area attorneys. He is also the chair of the 11^th Circuit Fee Dispute Committee through the South Carolina Bar Association.