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Joe Rice, Powerhouse Lowcountry Attorney and Motley Rice Co-Founder, Dies Unexpectedly at 72
The attorney helped secure major settlements and gave $30 million to rename USC’s law school, the firm said.
- Joe Rice, the powerhouse attorney and co-founder of Mount Pleasant-based Motley Rice, died unexpectedly on Thursday at age 72. The cause was not immediately disclosed.
- With a 47-year career as a litigator and negotiator beginning in 1979, Rice gained national recognition as a skillful negotiator of complex civil settlements, including the late 1990s Big Tobacco lawsuits that resulted in a $248 billion settlement.
- Recently, Rice served as co-lead counsel in nationwide opioid litigation and launched a legal battle for 3,965 people affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while handling thousands of water-contamination lawsuits involving toxic "forever chemicals."
- A devoted supporter of the University of South Carolina since graduating in 1976, Rice provided a $30 million donation that led the university to rename its law school the Joseph F. Rice School of Law in November 2023.
- Former U.S. attorney Pete Strom called him "the Lion King," while Motley Rice announced his "sudden and unexpected" passing and pledged, "As hard as it will be, we will continue the work that meant so much to him.
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Joe Rice, prominent Charleston area attorney and USC benefactor, has died
The co-founder of Motley Rice was known as a shrewd negotiator who was instrumental in settling numerous high-profile legal cases, from the Big Tobacco lawsuits to the opioid litigation. Rice also loved USC.
·Charleston, United States
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left0Leaning Right3Center8Last UpdatedBias Distribution73% Center
Bias Distribution
- 73% of the sources are Center
73% Center
C 73%
R 27%
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