USC to rename law school after prominent SC lawyer following $30M donation
The University of South Carolina has received a megadonation from a prominent Lowcountry lawyer and USC alumnus. Now the School of Law has a new name: the Joseph F. Rice School of Law.
Joseph Rice, co-founder of Mount Pleasant law firm Motley Rice LLC, has gifted the school $30 million.
The money will go towards an endowed student scholarship fund, which will include multiple three-year scholarships, as well as four new endowed professorships. It will also create stipends for law students focusing on children’s law and help fund professional development.
The donation is one of the largest in the university’s history.
Rice has also made other sizable contributions to USC. He and his wife, Lisa, gave $1 million to the law school’s Children’s Law Center in 2021. The Rice Athletic Center is also named in the couple’s honor.
“(The university) is family,” Rice said. “It’s a way of life.”
Rice attended USC’s law school more than 50 years ago after attending USC for his undergraduate degree.
His firm has served as counsel for several major civil actions in the last 20 years, including the landmark Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which was settled for $246 billion in the late 1990s — the largest civil settlement in United States history. His resume also includes securing settlements following the 2010 BP oil spill.
