Nelson Mullins has a legacy of taking on large-scale litigation matters to promote the well-being of disadvantaged classes of individuals.

Advocacy for Prisoners with Mental Health Illnesses
The Firm represented Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities and a class of inmates with mental illnesses in a lawsuit against the SC Department of Corrections. After 10 years of litigation and two years of negotiations, a settlement was struck that could end what Judge Michael Baxley called the unconstitutional treatment of severely mentally ill offenders in the prison facilities.

Protecting the Rights of School Children
In Abbeville County School District v. State of South Carolina, Nelson Mullins represents a group of rural school districts, students and taxpayers in a groundbreaking lawsuit challenging the funding of public schools and the adequacy of the overall education system. The Supreme Court found the entire public education system to be constitutionally lacking. Since the decision, the South Carolina legislature has been examining the court’s opinion in anticipation of passing remedial legislation.

Nelson Mullins has proactively created and maintained robust programs to provide simple wills and healthcare directives free of charge to first responders who put their lives on the line to serve and protect.

Wills for Heroes
After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Firm created the Wills For Heroes Program that provides free, simple wills and medical directives to first responders. Since the program’s inception, thousands of wills have been created for these individuals that protect us daily in our communities in Georgia, South Carolina and West Virginia. The Firm has expanded its wills programs to include the creation of the Habitat for Humanity Wills Project and the Zeb Alley Wills for Veterans. Several attorneys assisted Georgia Appleseed with the Promised Land Project to provide simple wills to low-income rural farmers.

The Firm worked in partnership with Eli Lilly and Company to help create and launch the Indianapolis Wills for Heroes Program.

The Firm sponsors and participates in several minority recruitment initiatives.

Nelson Mullins Dick Riley Scholarship Program - the merit based program is open to all 2L law students. Factors considered include a wide array of student backgrounds, characteristics, life experiences, and perspectives that may be reflected in beliefs - whether political, economic, social or philosophical. Awardees will receive a $10,000 scholarship and a salaried summer associate position at one of the Firm’s offices. The selection process coincides with Nelson Mullins’ regular summer associate recruiting process.

Nelson Mullins partners with Claflin University (a HBCU in Orangeburg, SC) for pre-law scholarships.

The Nelson Mullins M&A Externship Program provides 2L and 3L students from the University of Georgia School of Law with work experience in mergers and acquisitions for academic credit. During the fall and spring semesters, externs work side by side with Atlanta attorneys from Nelson Mullins’ Corporate Group to gain exposure to the entire M&A process as they become involved in a variety of matters related to a transaction. Externs are involved with under-represented lawyers in the M&A field.

The firm participates in the Atlanta Bar Association's Minority & Diversity Clerkship Program, which offers first-year students from Georgia's law schools — Emory, Georgia State University, John Marshall, Mercer and the University of Georgia — opportunities to participate as clerks for the summer with law firms and judges.

Nelson Mullins holds a Practical Skills Workshop in our Columbia, S.C. office. Attendees included students from the Black Law Student Association’s from the University of South Carolina School of Law and Charleston School of Law along with in-house and outside attorneys to help facilitate the event. The workshop was created to help better equip the students to succeed in law school and transition smoothly to the practice of law.

Nelson Mullins participates in the Southeastern Minority Job Fair (SEMJF). SEMJF provides legal employers throughout the United States an opportunity to interview second- and third-year law students, as well as recent graduates, from over 50+ ABA-approved southeastern law schools, including many of the country’s top-tier law schools.

Our firm participates in the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s annual Lavender Law® Career Fair which is designed to achieve a sense of community and inclusion for LGBTQ+ candidates within the legal profession’s recruiting efforts. By participating in this career fair, candidates are able to talk directly to LGBTQ+ friendly recruiters from law firms, government agencies, LGBTQ+ rights groups, and corporate legal departments.

Nelson Mullins has a Pipeline Outreach Program which is aimed at increasing broad diversity among law students and the legal profession by engaging with undergraduate students and helping them understand opportunities of a career in law.

Nelson Mullins is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, an organization of more than 200 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners whose mission is to create a truly diverse U.S. legal profession. In addition, we participate in the LCLD's Fellows program and in LCLD's 1L Scholars Program.

For over 20 years the firm has packed and sent over 300 “Nelson Mullins care packages” to military personnel overseas serving on the front lines of defense.

The firm has been very active in addressing homelessness in the communities in which it serves. Among the organizations we have supported include One80 Place (Charleston), Crossroads Community Ministries Inc. (Georgia), Family Promise of the Midlands (South Carolina), New Directions (Myrtle Beach), Transitions (Columbia), and the Salvation Army (South Carolina). The firm has organized or served as a consultant to the creation of homeless courts in Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Florence and in Charleston.