About Us
Year Founded: 1962
Office Locations: Myrtle Beach, Ocean Isle Beach
Overview:
The Bellamy Law Firm is a full service firm headquartered in Myrtle Beach, S.C., along with an office in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. The firm offers outstanding individual lawyers, with a depth of talent allowing clients to benefit from the strength of many attorneys practicing diverse, yet complementary areas of law.
The Bellamy Law Firm is honored to represent a distinguished list of clients from across the United States, including some of Myrtle Beach and South Carolina’s largest employers and landowners, along with a diverse range of business and legal interests.
The attorneys of The Bellamy Law Firm have outstanding academic credentials along with distinguished practice experience, which they bring to bear on behalf of their clients each and every day. Members of the firm are very active in professional and industry organizations including: the American Bar Association and the South Carolina Bar Association.
The Bellamy Law Firm is proud of its history, its roots in Myrtle Beach, and its reputation. The attorneys and staff are dedicated to its clients and look forward to serving the community for decades to come.
History
In June, 1962, Howell V. “Skeets” Bellamy, Jr. graduated from the University of South Carolina Law School and returned home to set up his law office upstairs in the Colonial Building in Myrtle Beach. The Colonial Building was one of Myrtle Beach’s most historic buildings and was located adjacent to the Pavilion on Kings Highway. Skeets practiced as a sole practitioner for approximately five years until he was joined by John K. Rutenberg in 1968.
Skeets and John later moved the office to the corner of 18th Avenue North and Oak Street. They practiced in that location for several years and later moved to a new building constructed for the law firm located in a commercial office strip at 19th Avenue North and Oak Street. Claude M. Epps, Jr. joined the practice in 1969 and the firm became Bellamy, Rutenberg & Epps.
Followed by Epps were: David R. Gravely, 1972; Edward B. Bowers, Jr., 1974; Bradley D. King, 1974; and John E. Copeland, 1976. The firm was then renamed Bellamy, Rutenberg, Copeland, Epps, Gravely & Bowers, P.A.
M. Edwin Hinds, Jr. clerked for the law firm several summers and joined the firm upon his graduation in 1982. Jill F. Griffith joined the firm in 1983, after clerking for a Circuit Court Judge.
In the Spring of 1985, the firm moved to its present 14,000 square foot location located on 29th Ave in Myrtle Beach. David B. Miller, a former summer clerk, became an associate at the Bellamy Law Firm in 1987, followed by C. Winfield Johnson in 1988. Douglas M. Zayicek was hired as associate in 1997. Jeffrey W. King and Martin C. Dawsey were hired in 1998 and, Robert S. Shelton, after clerking with the firm for several summers, became an associate in 2000.
In January 2001, Howell V. Bellamy, III joined the firm after six years with the Horry County Solicitor’s Office, and established the firm’s first Criminal Practice Division. In 2004, Ashley Proctor Morrison, George W. Redman, and William J. Cunningham joined the firm. The firm continued to grow as Benjamin A. Baroody was hired in May 2007, and, most recently, Philip Albergotti joined the firm in August 2009.
Professional Associations:
American Bar Association
Greater Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce
South Carolina Bar
South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
American Association for Justice
Horry County Bar
North Carolina State Bar
South Carolina Board of Arbitrator and Mediator
Circuit Court Arbitrator
Myrtle Beach Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
13th Judicial District Bar Association
Circuit Court Mediator
Business Associations:
Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association
Greater Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce
North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce
Leadership Grand Strand
Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
Leadership Brunswick County
Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors
Brunswick County Association of Realtors
Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce
GS Scene
Brunswick County Home Builders Association
Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation
Civic Associations
Chicora Rotary
Coastal Carolina Sertoma
Grand Strand Sertoma
Rotary Club of North Myrtle Beach
© 2010 The Bellamy Law Firm