Matthew Richardson

Matthew T. Richardson

MEMBER

Matthew’s practice focuses mostly on complex civil litigation, and he has participated in some of the largest and most complicated litigation in South Carolina in the past 20 years, including the largest minority owner oppression litigation, the largest public utility rate case, the largest public corruption investigation and prosecution in a generation, the statewide redistricting challenges, statewide consumer protection litigation, and a federal constitutional challenge to temporary rate relief after construction was abandoned on the new nuclear power plant.  Matthew represents a class of all foster care children in South Carolina for systemic reforms and is lead counsel in the state constitutional challenge to the South Carolina Heritage Act. He also handles personal injury, business litigation, and government and election law matters. His experience includes jury trials, bench trials, agency hearings and contested cases, preliminary motions and injunctions, dispositive motions and permanent injunctions, class action certification determinations, mediations, arbitrations, and appeals. Matthew is based in our Columbia, SC office.

803-254-6542
1998, J.D. University of South Carolina School of Law, South Carolina Law Review, Editor in Chief, 1997-98; Order of the Wig and Robe
1995, A.B. Duke University, Economics

Matthew has appeared in federal and state courts regularly since joining the Bar, and in a variety of matters, including:

  • Lead counsel in the largest minority shareholder oppression litigation in South Carolina, involving multiple entities organized in multiple states with more than $350 million in net asset value in multiple countries
  • Lead counsel in multi-million dollar consumer protection litigation on behalf of all 16 state circuit solicitors representing all 46 South Carolina counties
  • Lead counsel for the state agency charged with protecting the public interest in the biggest South Carolina utility rate case involving $5 billion
  • Lead counsel for the primary target in the largest State Grand Jury public corruption investigation and prosecution in 25 years in South Carolina
  • Lead counsel for SC Senate in successfully defending against constitutional challenges to $270 million in temporary rate relief for 780,000 ratepayers after construction of a new nuclear power plant was abandoned
  • Lead counsel in obtaining an arbitration award in business litigation with a value in excess of $25 million involving one of South Carolina’s largest privately held companies
  • Lead counsel for a class of all foster care children in South Carolina for systemic constitutional and statutory violations and for monitoring successful completion of the implementation plans
  • Local counsel for collection of a judgment on behalf of terrorist victims against competing claims for funds that had been frozen in the District of South Carolina
  • Lead counsel for a retrocessionaire in multiple claims for direct and successor liability in underlying tort cases
  • Lead counsel in minority ownership claims against a professional services business with more than 270,000 customers in three states
2001-Present Wyche, P.A.
2000–01 Law Clerk to the Honorable P. Michael Duffy, United States District Court, District of South Carolina
1998–99 Law Clerk to the Honorable Kaye G. Hearn, South Carolina Court of Appeals
  • South Carolina Bar
  • District of South Carolina
  • Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States Supreme Court
  • South Carolina Technical College System Foundation, Board Member
  • USC School of Law, Adjunct Professor
  • American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
  • South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, Chair, 2014-17
  • South Carolina Association for Justice: President, 2012-13
  • Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Permanent Member
  • 2010 Democratic Nominee for Attorney General of South Carolina
  • Liberty Fellowship (AGLN), Fellow, 2009 and Senior Advisor, Class of 2014
  • Federal Bar Association, President of the South Carolina Chapter, 2004–05
  • American Association for Justice
  • American Bar Association Foundation, Fellow
  • American Bar Association, Member
  • South Carolina Association for Justice
  • South Carolina Bar Association
  • John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court, Member
  • Richland County Bar Association, Bench-Bar Liaison Committee, 2007–Present
  • Project Homeless Experience Legal Protection, volunteer
  • HHES Football Coach:  Varsity assistant, 2023; JV head coach, 2022; JV assistant, 2020-2021
  • SCUBA certified Open Water Diver
  • Eagle Scout
  • Presentation, “Candor Toward the Tribunal,” Richland County Bar Association Annual Free Ethics CLE, Columbia, SC, October 28, 2016
  • Program Coordinator and Moderator, “Summit on Access to Justice for All,” USC Alumni Center, October 24, 2016
  • Presentation, “Access to Justice for All,” S.C. State Judicial Conference, Columbia, SC, August 20, 2015
  • Presentation, “More Light! Protecting Public Housing Participants through Utility Allowance Litigation” for S.C. Appleseed, Columbia, SC, November 21, 2014
  • Presentation, “2014 Mid-Year Review: Civil Practice Update,” Columbia, SC, June 27, 2014 & July 11, 2014
  • Presentation, “Plaintiffs’ Civil Trial Practice,” LAWS 557, USC School of Law, Columbia, SC, February 24, 2013, February 25, 2014, & February 23, 2015
  • Presentation, “Truthiness: Justice at Stake,” Auto Torts Seminar for S.C. Association for Justice, Atlanta, GA, December 1, 2012
  • Doing Business in South Carolina Guide, co-author of Section XVI: Ethics, Lobbying, and Campaign Financing
  • Program Coordinator and Moderator, “Guns Rights and Laws” CLE, USC School of Law, September 9, 2010
  • Presentation, “Discovery Issues and Techniques from the Plaintiff’s Perspective,” SC Bar CLE Seminar, Discovery: Problems & Solutions, Columbia, SC, May 14, 2010
  • Panel Discussion with Federal Judges, “Candor Towards the Tribunal,” Federal Bar Association 2009 Ethics CLE and Annual Meeting, Greenville, SC, September 17, 2009
  • Co-Author, “Insurance Bad Faith,” South Carolina Damages, S.C. Bar 2d ed. 2009
  • Co-Moderator, “Should the South Carolina Constitution Support a Stronger Executive?,” Symposium: State Constitutional Reform in the New South, Charleston School of Law, January 16, 2009
  • Moderator, “Exploring Bans on Illegal Immigrant Admission to State Colleges & Universities,” Symposium: State Constitutional Reform in the New South, Charleston School of Law, January 16, 2009
  • Presentation, “Election Protection Strategies,” NAACP Faith Community Summit, October 23, 2008
  • Presentation, “Statutory Changes to Joint and Several Liability,” SCTLA Convention, August 3, 2007
  • Presentation, “No-Injury Class Actions are Coming to South Carolina,” S.C. State Circuit Judges Conference, May 17, 2007
  • Presentation, “No-Injury Class Actions: Frontier or Futile?” RPWB Co-Counsel Seminar, April 27, 2007, and SCTLA Convention, August 3, 2007
  • Presentation, “Is ‘Joint and Several” Becoming ‘Blame Everybody”?” SCTLA Convention, August 3, 2006
  • Presentation, “Overview of the Federal Legal System,” FBA Summer Clerks Program, 2006, 2007 and 2008
  • Presentation, “2005 Legislative Changes to Joint and Several Liability in South Carolina,” Judges Meeting, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, May 12, 2006
  • Presentation, “What it Means to be a Trial Lawyer,” SCTLA Student Chapter, USC School of Law, October 27, 2005
  • Moderator, Fourth Annual Federal Practice in the District of South Carolina, September 9, 2005
  • Presentation, “All Aboard, The Train is Leaving: Electronic Case Filing is Mandatory in the District of South Carolina,” SCTLA Convention, August 5, 2005
  • Author, “2005 Legislative Changes to the South Carolina Civil Justice System,” SCTLA Bulletin, Summer 2005
  • Co-Author, “The Tort of Unauthorized Pelvic Exams,” Trial, October 2004
  • Co-Author, “Secret Settlements: Reports of Their Demise Are Premature,” 15 S.C. Law. 29, May 2004
  • Co-Author, “Insurance Bad Faith,” 2 South Carolina Damages 11, S.C. Bar 2004
2020 – 2022 Named One of the Top 25 Lawyers in SC by South Carolina Super Lawyers
2023 Inducted into the SC State University Thomas E. Miller Society
2020 Induction as Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
2019 Compleat Lawyer Gold Award, University of South Carolina School of Law
2017 Named  Greenville Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers
2015 S.C. Association for Justice Matthew J. Perry Public Service Award
2015 Greenville Business Magazine “50 Most Influential”
2014 – Present Listed in Chambers USA
2012 – Present Listed in South Carolina Super Lawyers
2013 – Present Listed in Best Lawyers in America
2010 Top 20 Under 40, The State
2009 Liberty Fellowship, Aspen Global Leadership Network
2003 Compleat Lawyer Silver Award, University of South Carolina School of Law
1998, J.D. University of South Carolina School of Law, South Carolina Law Review, Editor in Chief, 1997-98; Order of the Wig and Robe
1995, A.B. Duke University, Economics

Matthew has appeared in federal and state courts regularly since joining the Bar, and in a variety of matters, including:

  • Lead counsel in the largest minority shareholder oppression litigation in South Carolina, involving multiple entities organized in multiple states with more than $350 million in net asset value in multiple countries
  • Lead counsel in multi-million dollar consumer protection litigation on behalf of all 16 state circuit solicitors representing all 46 South Carolina counties
  • Lead counsel for the state agency charged with protecting the public interest in the biggest South Carolina utility rate case involving $5 billion
  • Lead counsel for the primary target in the largest State Grand Jury public corruption investigation and prosecution in 25 years in South Carolina
  • Lead counsel for SC Senate in successfully defending against constitutional challenges to $270 million in temporary rate relief for 780,000 ratepayers after construction of a new nuclear power plant was abandoned
  • Lead counsel in obtaining an arbitration award in business litigation with a value in excess of $25 million involving one of South Carolina’s largest privately held companies
  • Lead counsel for a class of all foster care children in South Carolina for systemic constitutional and statutory violations and for monitoring successful completion of the implementation plans
  • Local counsel for collection of a judgment on behalf of terrorist victims against competing claims for funds that had been frozen in the District of South Carolina
  • Lead counsel for a retrocessionaire in multiple claims for direct and successor liability in underlying tort cases
  • Lead counsel in minority ownership claims against a professional services business with more than 270,000 customers in three states
2001-Present Wyche, P.A.
2000–01 Law Clerk to the Honorable P. Michael Duffy, United States District Court, District of South Carolina
1998–99 Law Clerk to the Honorable Kaye G. Hearn, South Carolina Court of Appeals
  • South Carolina Bar
  • District of South Carolina
  • Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals
  • United States Supreme Court
  • South Carolina Technical College System Foundation, Board Member
  • USC School of Law, Adjunct Professor
  • American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
  • South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, Chair, 2014-17
  • South Carolina Association for Justice: President, 2012-13
  • Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Permanent Member
  • 2010 Democratic Nominee for Attorney General of South Carolina
  • Liberty Fellowship (AGLN), Fellow, 2009 and Senior Advisor, Class of 2014
  • Federal Bar Association, President of the South Carolina Chapter, 2004–05
  • American Association for Justice
  • American Bar Association Foundation, Fellow
  • American Bar Association, Member
  • South Carolina Association for Justice
  • South Carolina Bar Association
  • John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court, Member
  • Richland County Bar Association, Bench-Bar Liaison Committee, 2007–Present
  • Project Homeless Experience Legal Protection, volunteer
  • HHES Football Coach:  Varsity assistant, 2023; JV head coach, 2022; JV assistant, 2020-2021
  • SCUBA certified Open Water Diver
  • Eagle Scout
  • Presentation, “Candor Toward the Tribunal,” Richland County Bar Association Annual Free Ethics CLE, Columbia, SC, October 28, 2016
  • Program Coordinator and Moderator, “Summit on Access to Justice for All,” USC Alumni Center, October 24, 2016
  • Presentation, “Access to Justice for All,” S.C. State Judicial Conference, Columbia, SC, August 20, 2015
  • Presentation, “More Light! Protecting Public Housing Participants through Utility Allowance Litigation” for S.C. Appleseed, Columbia, SC, November 21, 2014
  • Presentation, “2014 Mid-Year Review: Civil Practice Update,” Columbia, SC, June 27, 2014 & July 11, 2014
  • Presentation, “Plaintiffs’ Civil Trial Practice,” LAWS 557, USC School of Law, Columbia, SC, February 24, 2013, February 25, 2014, & February 23, 2015
  • Presentation, “Truthiness: Justice at Stake,” Auto Torts Seminar for S.C. Association for Justice, Atlanta, GA, December 1, 2012
  • Doing Business in South Carolina Guide, co-author of Section XVI: Ethics, Lobbying, and Campaign Financing
  • Program Coordinator and Moderator, “Guns Rights and Laws” CLE, USC School of Law, September 9, 2010
  • Presentation, “Discovery Issues and Techniques from the Plaintiff’s Perspective,” SC Bar CLE Seminar, Discovery: Problems & Solutions, Columbia, SC, May 14, 2010
  • Panel Discussion with Federal Judges, “Candor Towards the Tribunal,” Federal Bar Association 2009 Ethics CLE and Annual Meeting, Greenville, SC, September 17, 2009
  • Co-Author, “Insurance Bad Faith,” South Carolina Damages, S.C. Bar 2d ed. 2009
  • Co-Moderator, “Should the South Carolina Constitution Support a Stronger Executive?,” Symposium: State Constitutional Reform in the New South, Charleston School of Law, January 16, 2009
  • Moderator, “Exploring Bans on Illegal Immigrant Admission to State Colleges & Universities,” Symposium: State Constitutional Reform in the New South, Charleston School of Law, January 16, 2009
  • Presentation, “Election Protection Strategies,” NAACP Faith Community Summit, October 23, 2008
  • Presentation, “Statutory Changes to Joint and Several Liability,” SCTLA Convention, August 3, 2007
  • Presentation, “No-Injury Class Actions are Coming to South Carolina,” S.C. State Circuit Judges Conference, May 17, 2007
  • Presentation, “No-Injury Class Actions: Frontier or Futile?” RPWB Co-Counsel Seminar, April 27, 2007, and SCTLA Convention, August 3, 2007
  • Presentation, “Is ‘Joint and Several” Becoming ‘Blame Everybody”?” SCTLA Convention, August 3, 2006
  • Presentation, “Overview of the Federal Legal System,” FBA Summer Clerks Program, 2006, 2007 and 2008
  • Presentation, “2005 Legislative Changes to Joint and Several Liability in South Carolina,” Judges Meeting, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, May 12, 2006
  • Presentation, “What it Means to be a Trial Lawyer,” SCTLA Student Chapter, USC School of Law, October 27, 2005
  • Moderator, Fourth Annual Federal Practice in the District of South Carolina, September 9, 2005
  • Presentation, “All Aboard, The Train is Leaving: Electronic Case Filing is Mandatory in the District of South Carolina,” SCTLA Convention, August 5, 2005
  • Author, “2005 Legislative Changes to the South Carolina Civil Justice System,” SCTLA Bulletin, Summer 2005
  • Co-Author, “The Tort of Unauthorized Pelvic Exams,” Trial, October 2004
  • Co-Author, “Secret Settlements: Reports of Their Demise Are Premature,” 15 S.C. Law. 29, May 2004
  • Co-Author, “Insurance Bad Faith,” 2 South Carolina Damages 11, S.C. Bar 2004
2020 – 2022 Named One of the Top 25 Lawyers in SC by South Carolina Super Lawyers
2023 Inducted into the SC State University Thomas E. Miller Society
2020 Induction as Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers
2019 Compleat Lawyer Gold Award, University of South Carolina School of Law
2017 Named  Greenville Appellate Practice “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers
2015 S.C. Association for Justice Matthew J. Perry Public Service Award
2015 Greenville Business Magazine “50 Most Influential”
2014 – Present Listed in Chambers USA
2012 – Present Listed in South Carolina Super Lawyers
2013 – Present Listed in Best Lawyers in America
2010 Top 20 Under 40, The State
2009 Liberty Fellowship, Aspen Global Leadership Network
2003 Compleat Lawyer Silver Award, University of South Carolina School of Law

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