Kenneth M. Suggs

Kenneth M. Suggs, a principal in the firm of Janet, Jenner & Suggs, has been a tireless champion of consumer legal rights for nearly 40 years. Known for his advocacy in the areas of medical malpractice, product liability and business litigation, he has been recognized nationally as one of the nation’s finest trial lawyers.

As head of the firm’s Business Litigation Division, Mr. Suggs has won judgments and verdicts for business clients wronged by major corporations, including a win for a $1 billion company against a Fortune 500 corporation. As a leader in the firm’s medical malpractice area, he has sought and won justice for many, ranging from infants who suffered severe birth injuries to families who lost loved ones due to dangerous prescription drugs.

Kenneth Suggs has held a broad range of leadership positions in many organizations devoted to law and education, including President of the American Association for Justice (formerly the American Association of Trial Lawyers) from 2005-2006. In 2012, he was named Best Lawyers ® Lawyer of the Year–Product Liability, Columbia, SC.  In 2009 he was recognized as South Carolina Super Lawyer’s® Top Point Getter and has been listed among Best Lawyers in America® for more than 10 years in the areas of mass torts, medical malpractice, personal injury and product liability litigation.

Mr. Suggs has received numerous honors including inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs, Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation – Plaintiffs 2014. He was named the Best Lawyers’ 2014 Columbia, SC Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs “Lawyer of the Year”. Mr. Suggs has been named to Maryland Super Lawyers each of the past six years. He has been honored with the American Association for Justice Harry Philo and President’s Awards and the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association Founders Award, both in 2007, and the American Bar Association’s Torts and Insurance Practice Section’s “Pursuit of Justice” award in 2008.

Mr. Suggs is the 2006 recipient of the “Advocate of the Year” award presented by the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center. He also attained recognition as a Fellow of the National College of Advocacy. He served as President of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association in 1981, and currently serves on its Board of Governors and Legislative Committee; the Advisory Board for Best Lawyers in America; and the Executive Committee of the Lawyers Committee for the National Center for State Courts.

Kenneth Suggs served as president of the Richland County Bar Association in 1999 and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has also served as a member of the US District Court Advisory Committee and was a co-draftsman of the South Carolina Rules of Evidence, later adopted by the South Carolina Supreme Court.

He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1975, and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Clemson University in 1968. He currently serves on the Clemson University President’s Advisory Committee. Before attending law school, he served in the United States Navy, including two years in the Vietnam War.