Matthew G. Gerrald

About

Mr. Gerrald practices primarily in the fields of civil litigation and appeals, professional liability defense, and insurance coverage, along with collections, construction law, real estate, and church law. He regularly defends complex civil cases--particularly those alleging negligence or professional malpractice--and handles appeals thereof at all levels of state and federal courts in South Carolina. His defense clients include lawyers, accountants, doctors, and other professionals. He advises and represents insurance carriers regarding coverage and bad faith issues. Churches and other nonprofits often call upon him to advise them on a variety of issues ranging from incorporation to abuse reporting to parliamentary procedure. He also handles collection and bankruptcy matters for finance and development companies.
Mr. Gerrald is licensed to practice and has appeared in the state courts of South Carolina, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He has been commissioned as a Blackstone Fellow and Allied Attorney by the Alliance Defending Freedom and is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the Richland County Bar Association, DRI (formally Defense Research Institute), the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association, the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, and Christian Legal Society.
Mr. Gerrald serves as a Legislative Liaison for DRI, with his findings being published every four weeks in the e-mail newsletter The Voice. He has drafted several articles for the South Carolina Baptist Convention and is a contributor to the South Carolina chapter of Fifty State Construction Lien and Bond Law (a publication of Aspen Publishers). He is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the South Carolina Legal Writing Academy and has been selected to the Rising Stars list published by South Carolina Super Lawyers magazine.
Mr. Gerrald received a B.A. in political science and religious studies from the University of South Carolina in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2007. During college, he worked in the Washington office of then-Congressman Jim DeMint. During law school, he interned for the North Carolina Family Policy Council in Raleigh. He also received various honors and awards in law school, including the CALI Excellence for the Future Award, and he was a member of the South Carolina Law Review, the Order of the Wig and Robe, and the Order of the Coif. He also earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of South Carolina in 2007.
In addition to his practice, Mr. Gerrald enjoys spending time with his family, reading, studying theology, and participating in endurance sports. He has finished numerous 5Ks, a 10K, and a half marathon in addition to ten triathlons, including the Washington D.C. Triathlon and the Ironman 70.3 Augusta. He is also an avid collegiate sports fan—particularly of South Carolina football and baseball—a children's Sunday School teacher, and a youth soccer coach. He serves on the board of Bethany Christian Services of Columbia, and he and his family attend Grace Point Church in Irmo, South Carolina.