Attorney
BIO
Katie McElveen has over twenty-six years of experience in the legal field. She is a native of Charleston, South Carolina and obtained her undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the College of Charleston, earning the departmental award for outstanding academic excellence. With law school in mind, she joined a nationally recognized firm as a paralegal in 1997, where she gained invaluable practical experience working on class actions and complex toxic tort and products liability cases.
In 2007, Katie graduated from the Charleston School of Law with honors as a member of its inaugural class. While in law school, she served on the executive committees of the Federal Courts Law Review and the Student Bar Association. She was also chosen to serve on the school’s Executive Leadership Council.
Since graduating from law school, Katie has enjoyed a diverse litigation practice handling complex, high-stakes cases in federal and state court on a nationwide basis in a variety of practice areas, including toxic tort, products liability, qui tam, employment, environmental, construction, consumer protection, and business litigation.
Katie has also enjoyed teaching at her alma mater. In August 2018, she joined the Charleston School of Law as an Adjunct Professor, teaching legal writing, research, analysis, and oral advocacy to first-year students. She then served as the school’s Director of Academic and Bar Success for two years, teaching skills-based classes and providing guidance to students inside and outside of the classroom to ensure success in law school and beyond.
She is licensed in South Carolina and admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Districts of Colorado, Northern Florida, and South Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals in the Fourth, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuit.
She is an experienced litigator who enjoys the variety and complexity of the law. She works tirelessly to provide relief for those who have been seriously wronged.
Outside the Courtroom
Katie lives with her family in Charleston, South Carolina. She enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, kayaking, going to concerts, and spending time with family and friends.
Education
- College of Charleston
- Charleston School of Law
Awards & Recognitions
- Pinckney Inn of Phi Delta Phi Judge Alex Sanders Award – Charleston School of Law
- Faculty Mentor of the Year – Charleston School of Law
- Adjunct Professor of the Year – Charleston School of Law
- South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division President’s Award
- South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division Star of the Quarter Award, three-time recipient
Publications
- Federal Civil Rules Handbook, 2023 ed. (Contributing Author).
- Instant Evidence – Federal Evidence and Objections, National Consumer Law Center (Summer 2019) (co-author).
- Class Action Damages, South Carolina Damages (2017, update and edit chapter).
- An Overview of Watson v. Ford: The South Carolina Supreme Court Applies Rule 702, SCRE and Addresses the Rule Regarding Evidence of Similar Incidents, S.C. Young Lawyer, Vol. 2, Issue 1 (Feb. 2011) (co-author).
- Foreclosures and Loan Modifications: Stopping the Flood After the Storm, S.C. Young Lawyer, Vol. 2, Issue 1 (Feb. 2010) (co-author).
- Rule 35: Independent Mental Examinations – How Recordation of Independent Mental Examinations Can Ensure Impartiality in the Examination Room Interview, The Justice Bulletin, South Carolina Association for Justice (Fall 2009) (co-author).
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Bar Association
- South Carolina Association for Justice
- Charleston County Bar Association
- Association of Academic Support Educators
- South Carolina Bar Judicial Qualifications Committee – Past Committee Chair and Member
