Private-client counsel in Berkeley CountyCharleston, SC
Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves Berkeley County and the surrounding area.
Clients across Berkeley County 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 Berkeley County 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.
- CharlestonLaw Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV serves Charleston and the surrounding area.
- 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.
If you were hurt in Hanahan, Daniel Island, Moncks Corner, Cainhoy, Wando, or Bonneau, you need a straight answer on whether the file is worth pursuing — not a sales call labeled as a free consultation. Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe IV screens Berkeley County injury matters from 8 Chalmers Street in Charleston. That first meeting tests facts, deadlines, and next steps. It stops short of drafting your demand or marking up a contract at no charge.
Berkeley County shares roads and carriers with Goose Creek, North Charleston, Summerville, and Charleston County, so one wreck can be a commute, a job site, or a trip into the city. Catastrophic harm is the work this small firm is known for: auto and trucking collisions, premises and products liability, medical malpractice, admiralty, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, electrocution, state and federal tort claims, and wrongful death. Other Lowcountry lawyers send over their hardest personal injury files. You deal with Gedney M. Howe IV, Alvin J. Hammer, and Michael A. Monastra, not a rotating intake desk.
Fault on an insurance form is not the same as paying for future care. We put damages on paper, leave medical choices with you, and do not steer treatment to puff a file. Appointments are recommended, online booking is available, and the office has a wheelchair-accessible entrance, parking, and restroom, with free lot and street parking. If a Berkeley County matter is outside what we take, you hear that on the call.
How we work in Berkeley County
Free Consultation
A Berkeley County free consultation is a case screening: what happened around Hanahan or on the Daniel Island drive, who is on the policy, and whether the claim belongs here. Paid work starts after a written fee agreement. If you need a letter written that afternoon, that is not the free meeting.
Personal Injury
Personal injury work for Berkeley County residents is built for serious harm, not a nuisance check on a bruised bumper. Trucking wrecks, premises failures, defective products, malpractice, and wrongful death get investigated in detail and tried when talking fails. Neighbors in Goose Creek run into the same carrier tactics. Paper beats hope.
Family Law
Family law questions from Moncks Corner, Cainhoy, or Wando still turn on custody, child support, alimony, and how deep discovery will run. Cost follows conflict and emergency motions, not a slogan. We would rather map a phased scope you can pause than pretend a Family Court fight has a tidy forever price.
Estate Planning
Estate planning for a Berkeley County household is paid legal work, not a giveaway tucked into an injury consult. Who inherits, who decides, and what happens if a catastrophic injury is already pending should not be mixed into one casual conversation. If you only need simple documents, say so up front.
Business Law
Business law help for owners in Hanahan or along the Wando corridor is a paid engagement after we confirm the dispute is a fit. Breach of contract is in this firm’s record of results. That does not mean every vendor spat belongs here. Bring the agreement and we will tell you if you need a different kind of shop.
Real Estate Law
Real estate law from Daniel Island to Bonneau — a closing that stalled, a title fight, a deal that soured — gets a screening, then a defined scope. We will not post a county-wide fee on a webpage. If someone was hurt on the property, that is a premises file, not a closing problem in costume.
Criminal Defense
Criminal defense after a Berkeley County arrest is its own track. The free consultation still means fit and next steps, not a promise to stand in at every hearing. If the charge sits outside what we handle, you get a direct no rather than a vague we-can-look.
Immigration
Immigration questions for families split between Berkeley County and the Charleston office are screened the same way: do we take this work, and what must be paid. Status advice is not casual add-on chatter during a crash consult. If you need a specialist after a disappointing generalist meeting, we will say that out loud.
Contract Review
Contract review is paid. Berkeley County clients sometimes treat the free consultation as a chance to have a lease or a release marked up for nothing; that is where the consult stops. If the paper is the dispute, we look at whether a limited-scope read or actual litigation is the honest next step.
Berkeley County questions, answered
If I live in Moncks Corner, do I have to come into Charleston for the first meeting?
No. Online appointments are available, and the office recommends scheduling rather than dropping in. When you do come to 8 Chalmers Street, there is free lot and street parking and a wheelchair-accessible entrance. The meeting is still a screening, on a screen or in the room.
What does a free consultation include after a Daniel Island or Hanahan crash?
A real case screening: facts, coverage, deadlines, and whether we are the right firm. It does not include free work on your demand, your medical liens, or your release. If we take the file, a written fee agreement comes first, including how a contingency fee, case costs, and liens would be handled.
Insurance already said they were at fault. Why talk to anyone?
Fault on a form is not payment for future care, time out of work, or a brain injury that shows later. Early offers are built for speed. We investigate and, when needed, litigate. We do not promise a higher number.
If I switch lawyers mid-case, do I pay two contingency fees?
Do not assume two full percentages stacked on the same recovery. What the first firm is owed, what a substitution agreement says, and the order of fees versus case costs all belong in writing before you change counsel. Ask us to walk through that order before you sign anything new.
Whether at our table or yours, Berkeley County 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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