Clarence Davis is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia where he practices in the areas of business, pharmaceutical and medical device, toxic torts, product liability, and class action trial defense. Mr. Davis is often retained to serve as lead counsel, assisting other lawyers in trials regarding complex business matters. In addition to the areas outlined above, Mr. Davis has defended cases involving automotive design and environmental contamination. A member of the South Carolina Bar, Mr. Davis is admitted to practice before the 4th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. He has been admitted pro hac vice in state and federal courts in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Mr. Davis has represented national companies in litigation throughout the Southeast. He obtained a defense verdict in a Virginia class action federal court trial while serving as lead trial counsel. Serving as lead counsel, Mr. Davis also obtained dismissals in two South Carolina class actions, one of which was a toxic tort matter wherein he represented a Fortune 500 chemical company. He has served as co-lead trial counsel in two Tennessee class actions, and he recently represented small Southeastern businesses in a plaintiff class action in which a significant multimillion-dollar settlement was obtained following the class certification hearing on fraud and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). With experience in the management of complex litigation, Mr. Davis serves as one of the national coordinating counsel in drug and medical device litigation on a specific product and is also national coordinating counsel for the document collection, review and database creation and management for another product, both for two Fortune 150 corporations.

Trained by the U.S. Department of Justice to work with the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Davis has knowledge and trial experience in matters related to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (Superfund); the Clean Water Act; and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). While serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney for South Carolina, Mr. Davis was responsible for all environmental work in that office, and he successfully tried the first South Carolina environmental crime case taken before a jury. He has in-depth knowledge of environmental law and the agencies that regulate those laws. Also while working with the U.S. Department of Justice, Mr. Davis managed the prosecution of complex business crimes and successfully tried before a jury the first criminal securities fraud case prosecuted in South Carolina courts.

Prior to joining Nelson Mullins, Mr. Davis was affiliated with another prominent firm, where he practiced in complex business litigation, and often served as lead counsel in cases throughout South Carolina. Mr. Davis has more than 20 years of trial experience. In the 1980s, as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force, he was one of 20 Circuit Trial Counsel stationed throughout the world. In that capacity, he was responsible for the trial prosecution of serious felonies at air bases in eight states located in the western United States.

Mr. Davis is a recipient of The Order of the Palmetto, the highest public service award issued in the State of South Carolina. Mr. Davis served as chairman of the S.C. Jobs-Economic Development Authority, rebuilding it from a debt-ridden, publicly-criticized agency to what is now essentially a $28 million asset lending agency for small and medium-sized businesses. Mr. Davis also served as a member of the S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development and its Enterprise Zone Committee, as well as the Governor's Commission on Race Relations, where he chaired the Economic Development Subcommittee. Mr. Davis has served as a South Carolina delegate on Southeastern trade missions to Japan and Korea, and he has served, at the request of the chief judge, as a member of the screening panel for the appointment of a U.S. Magistrate. Presently, he serves as a member of the South Carolina Bar's Judicial Qualifications Committee, providing recommendations to the legislature on the qualifications of state judicial candidates.

In 2003, Mr. Davis completed service with the Governor of South Carolina on the governor's 8-member executive transition team. While serving on the Governor's Transition Team, Mr. Davis was selected to chair the 51-member Economic Development Task Force, the report of which serves as the cornerstone for economic development initiatives that will influence the future of South Carolina. Resulting from this service, Mr. Davis has been appointed by the Governor of South Carolina to serve on the board of directors of the South Carolina Public Service Authority, a $1.1 billion revenue state-owned utility that employs approximately 1700 people. He is a member of The Palmetto Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, independent research foundation whose goal is to work with state business, civic and community leaders to raise South Carolina's per capita income. Currently, Mr. Davis also serves on the board of directors of the Central Carolina Community Foundation, an organization that with a $50 million endowment fund, supports community works. Mr. Davis is a member of the foundation's Investment Committee. He served as a member of the search committee for a Dean of the University of South Carolina School of Law, having been appointed by the President of the University. He also serves on the board of governors of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association. As well, he serves on the board of governors for Woodward Academy, a prestigious Atlanta-based private K-12 school, and is a member of its Executive and Finance and Investment Policy Committees.

Mr. Davis is a member of the American Bar Association and its Litigation, Business, and White Collar Crime Sections. Within the Litigation Section, Mr. Davis serves on the Energy Litigation Committee. Mr. Davis is also a member of the Defense Research Institute, and a member of and state liaison for its Drug and Medical Device Litigation Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the National Bar Association, where he serves on the Executive Committee of the Commercial Law Section. He is a recipient of the association's Presidential Award for Outstanding Contributions. A member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Mr. Davis has been invited to join the U.S. Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, and he has served as a faculty member and primary author of course materials for a seminar titled, "Class Action Litigation in Federal and State Courts." He has also served as a faculty member for the Defense Research Institute's Environmental Toxic Tort Litigation Conference on the segment topic "Bring Out the Handkerchiefs: How to Handle Jury Sympathy."

Mr. Davis earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1982, and a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Studies from the University of South Carolina in 1979.