Managing Attorney
Jarrel L. Wigger is the founder and managing attorney of Wigger Law Firm, Inc. Born in Wiesbaden, West Germany, in 1963 while his father served overseas in the United States Air Force, he grew up in Anderson, South Carolina. He earned a B.A. in English from The Citadel — where he lettered four years in wrestling, held cadet rank, and served two years on the training cadre — and went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from Wake Forest University School of Law. A Civil Trial Specialist certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and a certified instructor with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, he has practiced law in South Carolina since 1988. His practice spans motor vehicle and trucking law, workers’ compensation, employment law, products liability, wrongful death, Social Security disability, premises liability, professional negligence, corporate law, and wills and trusts.
Mr. Wigger served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1988 to 1992, including service in Desert Shield and the Panamanian action, and tried cases in Bahrain, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. In private practice he was an associate at Drose, Davidson & Bennett (1992–1994) and managing partner of Davidson, Bennett & Wigger (1995–2005) before founding Wigger Law Firm, Inc., where he has been managing partner since 2005. He serves on the Board of Governors and Nominating Committee of the Workers’ Compensation Claimant’s Attorneys Association and has successfully prosecuted thousands of workers’ compensation claims. He has brought cases in nearly every county in South Carolina and in 28 states, and is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a group recognizing attorneys with verdicts or settlements exceeding two million dollars.
He has been named a Super Lawyer for many years and listed in Who’s Who in American Law, and his military service earned him the Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, and Expert Pistol and Rifle Medals. A founding member of the Gavalas Kolanko Foundation — a non-profit that funds scholarships for students with disabilities — and of the Philo Foundation, he helps maintain one of the finest product-safety libraries in the world. He is deeply involved in youth wrestling, having coached at Summerville High School and on South Carolina’s state teams, producing multiple National Champions and All-Americans and leading the SC Juniors to a 12th-place national finish — the state’s best ever — and he is an M-1 certified USA Wrestling official, a former Vice Chair of SC USA Wrestling, and was named USA Wrestling’s Southeast Person of the Year. A frequent lecturer, he has spoken at the South Carolina and New Jersey Trial Lawyers Conventions, the Philo Invitational 21-Hour Seminar, the Hi-Fi Seminar, the Workers’ Compensation Claimant’s Attorney Association, and The Citadel Inn of Court and Leadership Forum. He is the proud father of a daughter, Amy, and a son, Jordan.
J.D., Wake Forest University School of Law
B.A., English, The Citadel
Civil Trial Specialist, National Board of Trial Advocacy
Certified Instructor, National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA)
Admitted: South Carolina (1988), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (1991), U.S. Federal District Court (1992), U.S. Supreme Court (1996), and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (2002)
Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
Member
Workers’ Compensation Claimant’s Attorneys Association — Board of Governors
Nominating Committee
American Association for Justice
Member
South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association
Member