H. Mills Gallivan

It is not unusual for someone to ask me; “Why did you become a lawyer and would you do it again?” I became a lawyer to help solve serious legal problems that people and businesses have been unable to resolve on their own. Over the past 47 years, I have applied my knowledge, skill, energy, and passion to provide clients with creative legal solutions. Among other things, law school taught me to solve legal problems through an analytical process. What I love about legal problem-solving is using my creativity to design a unique, elegant, and strategic solution to a problem. The most satisfying days for me are when I can offer a creative and previously unthought-of solution to a problem. I have also learned over my career that my clients deserve an aggressive advocate, who will push for a speedy and efficient resolution of their disputes through negotiation when possible and trial when necessary. The creative resolution of legal issues requires an intentional and strategic plan along with the implementation of properly timed tactics. I believe that this begins with a plan for the strategic resolution of the issue at hand.

My current Alternative Dispute Resolution practice allows me to maximize over four decades of negotiation, litigation, and trial experiences into the focused pursuit of elegant and creative legal solutions. I provide negotiation counseling, mediation, arbitration, and Special Referee services to parties seeking timely and efficient resolution of their problems. My background and experiences as a litigator and trial attorney have given me a broad-based knowledge of the law. I also have extensive knowledge of the South Carolina Court System and the personalities of many members of the South Carolina Bar. This perspective often allows me to highlight for parties the strengths and weaknesses of their cases and to guide them to a more thorough cost/benefit analysis and the relative merits of resolving high-stakes litigation before trial.

I believe that the law is a calling and a true profession. I have been extraordinarily blessed in my career and feel a profound duty to give back to the legal community. I have dedicated a significant portion of my career to improving the profession and mentoring young lawyers. My passions for the law and helping younger lawyers have led me to several leadership roles in legal organizations that advance the rule of law and preserve the civil justice system. My proudest career accomplishments have been receiving the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association Robert W. Hemphill Award in 2019 and the University of South Carolina Law School Platinum Lawyer Award in 2018.

Would I be a lawyer again, the answer is an unqualified yes!  It has been a wonderful privilege and an honor to practice law. I would recommend it to anyone who is intellectually curious and seeks to serve society in a unique profession that resolves critical problems with the rule of law.

• J.D., University of South Carolina School of Law, 1976
• B.A., Vanderbilt University, 1973

•American Bar Association
•South Carolina Bar, Dispute Resolution Council
•Greenville County Bar Association
•Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, President 2016-2017
•Haynsworth-Perry American Inn of Court, Past President
•National Foundation for Judicial Excellence, Past President
•Lawayers for Civil Justice, President 2021-2022
•Past President, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association
•Defense Research Institute Board of Directors
•South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association

$2,500 per day flat fee, and $1,850.00 for 1/2 day all flat fees include preparation, travel and follow up time.  Complex, multiparty or multiple day mediations are $350.00 per hour plus expenses.