Tim McKissock

The fight is personal.

Tim McKissock brings a perspective to representing injured individuals and their families that few lawyers can offer. For more than 30 years, he has handled complex, high-stakes litigation from virtually every side of a dispute: as lead counsel to major corporations and healthcare organizations, as an advocate for injured individuals and families, and as a certified mediator entrusted by other lawyers to resolve difficult cases. Today, he puts that experience to work primarily representing individuals and families in medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases.

Before joining McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, Tim spent more than two decades at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, where he was an equity partner, held significant leadership roles, and represented major corporations, healthcare organizations, and other institutional clients in sophisticated litigation. That experience gave him an inside understanding of how defendants evaluate risk, how insurers and corporate decision-makers approach significant claims, and how experienced defense teams develop their strategies. Today, he uses that knowledge to anticipate the other side’s approach, identify leverage, and build stronger cases for his clients.

Tim has recovered millions of dollars for injured individuals and their families. He was even part of a litigation team that recovered a multi-hundred million dollar settlement for a client.  But for him, a successful case is not just measured by the verdict or settlement alone. His work has also helped bring about significant changes in policies and procedures at major hospitals designed to prevent the same failures from harming another patient. 

Strong negotiation has been central to Tim’s practice. A South Carolina certified circuit court mediator for nearly 20 years who completed the Strategic Negotiations Program at Harvard Business School, Tim has participated in hundreds of mediations from every seat at the table: representing corporate defendants, healthcare providers, injured plaintiffs and their families, and serving as the mediator himself. That breadth of experience has taught him that effective negotiation requires more than being aggressive. It requires understanding what drives the other side, knowing when to push, recognizing when an opportunity exists, and having the credibility to bring people toward a result.

Tim also has extensive arbitration experience, both as an advocate and as a neutral. He has arbitrated numerous complex disputes in South Carolina and across the country and has also been selected to serve as an arbitrator. Having experienced arbitration from both sides of the table gives him valuable insight into how arbitrators evaluate evidence, assess credibility, and identify the issues that ultimately drive a decision.

For Tim, the goal is straightforward: to bring everything he has learned over three decades as a litigator, defense attorney, mediator, and plaintiffs’ advocate to bear for people whose lives have been changed by serious injury or loss. He measures success not only by the result achieved for an individual client, but also by the accountability and change that can prevent the same harm from happening to another family.

Beyond the courtroom.

Tim’s connection to South Carolina extends well beyond the courtroom. An avid outdoorsman, he spends much of his free time hunting, fishing, hiking, and exploring the state. Hunting particularly reflects his competitive nature: preparation, patience, persistence, and, when the opportunity comes, a determination to succeed. He brings that same mindset to the courtroom: prepare relentlessly, stay focused, and compete to win. 

For more than 30 years, Tim has invested in his community. He has served on the Board of Trustees and legal advisor to the Columbia Museum of Art, held multiple Board terms with EdVenture Children’s Museum, and served on the development committee of Historic Columbia. He has also mentored generations of attorneys who have gone on to become partners, judges, and law firm leaders.

Whether in the courtroom, the outdoors, or his community, Tim is driven by the same principles: prepare, persevere, compete, and make a difference. For him, winning a case matters. Using the law to make people and institutions better matters even more.