by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmDoug Kim named to SC Biz South Carolina 500 list
Founding attorney Doug Kim named to SC Biz South Carolina 500 list
Kim Lahey & Killough is pleased to announce that our firm founder Doug Kim has been named to the South Carolina 500 list by SC Biz. The South Carolina 500 is SCBIZ’ first-ever list of The Palmetto State’s most influential and impactful leaders in business, nonprofits, government and higher education. Featured in the December 2025 issue of the publication, South Carolina honorees in law are listed here.
Doug Kim started his career as a computer engineer after earning his Physics degree at Davidson College. After earning his law degree and working close to two decades as an intellectual property attorney, he founded Kim and Lahey with Seann Lahey in Greenville. The firm, now Kim, Lahey & Killough, has offices in both Greenville and Charleston and was recently honored as South Carolina’s Best Intellectual Property Law Firm by statewide business publications.
In addition to his work as an intellectual property attorney, Doug serves as a South Carolina certified mediator, is a regular speaker and author on topics including intellectual property, artificial intelligence, innovation and their intersection with law. Doug serves as Chair of South Carolina’s InnoVision Awards and previously chaired the South Carolina Bar Technology, Innovation and IP Committee.
With offices in both Greenville and Charleston, SC, Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate to the Lowcountry to across the globe. The firm serves the manufacturing, software, energy, finance, hospitality, tourism, defense, agriculture and technology industries as well as universities. Key practice areas include intellectual property, business and commercial litigation, mediation, employment, corporate and business matters including formation and structure, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, and cybersecurity.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmKim Lahey Killough named Best Intellectual Property Law Firm in South Carolina
Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is proud to announce that we have been named the Best Intellectual Property Law Firm in South Carolina by Greenville Business Magazine, Columbia Business Monthly, Charleston Business Magazine, B2B: The Grand Strand and B2B: Pee Dee Business as part of their Best in Business 2025 initiative. This peer and public voting award was announced in the December 2025 issues of the publications. The firm adds this award to many bestowed in 2025, including:
Kim Lahey Killough named to Best Law Firms
Kim Lahey Killough intellectual property and business attorneys named in Best Lawyers
Kim Lahey Killough attorneys named in South Carolina Super Lawyers
All Kim Lahey Killough attorneys named Legal Elite by Charleston Business Magazine and Greenville Business Magazine
Attorneys named Greenville Top Lawyers by TALK Greenville
We are thankful for the trust and endorsements of our clients, peers, and associates.
With offices in both Greenville and Charleston South Carolina, Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate to the Lowcountry to across the globe. The firm serves the manufacturing, software, energy, finance, hospitality, tourism, defense, agriculture and technology industries as well as universities. Key practice areas include intellectual property, corporate and business matters including formation and structure, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, cybersecurity, franchising, business, commercial and intellectual property litigation, and mediation.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmKim Lahey Killough Listed in 2026 Best Law Firms
Kim, Lahey & Killough Listed in 2026 Best Law Firms
The Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is pleased to be named in the 2026 edition of Best Law Firms® for the Greenville and Charleston, South Carolina markets.
The firm is recognized for its work in the following areas:
Charleston, South Carolina office
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Trademark Law
- Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Corporate Law
Greenville, South Carolina office
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Trademark Law
- Copyright Law
- Litigation – Patent
- Commercial Litigation
- Patent Law
With offices in both Greenville and Charleston, SC, Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate to the Lowcountry to across the globe. The firm serves the manufacturing, software, energy, finance, hospitality, tourism, defense, agriculture and technology industries as well as universities. Key practice areas include intellectual property, corporate and business matters including formation and structure, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, cybersecurity, franchising, business, commercial and intellectual property litigation, and mediation.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmKim, Lahey Killough attorneys listed 2026 Best Lawyers
Kim, Lahey & Killough attorneys listed in 2026 Best Lawyers
Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is honored to announce that five of the firm attorneys are listed in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 edition:
In the firm’s Greenville home office, firm founder Douglas W. Kim is recognized for his work in
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Litigation – Patent
- Patent Law (Lawyer of the Year, 2019)
- Trade Secrets Law
- Trademark Law (Lawyer of the Year, 2022)
Firm co-founder, Seann Lahey is listed for his work in:
- Patent Law
- Trademark Law
And Greenville patent attorney Hunter S. Freeman is commended for his work in:
- Commercial Litigation
- Copyright Law
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Litigation – Patent
- Trademark Law
In the firm’s Charleston office, Charleston patent attorney B. C. Killough celebrates his 15th year on the Best Lawyers list for his work in:
- Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Corporate Law (Lawyer of the Year, 2015)
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Patent Law
- Trademark Law
Licensed in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, Casey Martens heads up the firm’s Brevard, NC office. She is recognized by Best Lawyers in the Greenville, SC metro as a 2026 Best Lawyers One to Watch in America in the areas of:
- Employee Benefits Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- Labor and Employment Law – Employee
- Labor and Employment Law – Management
- Litigation – Labor and Employment
Since 1981, The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America has compiled and reviewed peer evaluations from across the United States to identify an annual list of honorees. This year, over 31 million evaluations were analyzed, including a record-breaking 4.8 million new responses.
About Kim, Lahey & Killough
With offices in Greenville and Charleston, SC and Brevard, NC, the Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate, to the Lowcountry to across the globe.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmAll attorneys listed as 2025 Legal Elite
Entire Kim, Lahey & Killough attorney team listed as 2025 Legal Elite by Charleston Business and Greenville Business Magazines
Kim, Lahey & Killough is proud to announce that each of their eight attorneys has been named in the 2025 Legal Elite lists with all five of the firm’s registered patent attorneys recognized as Legal Elite in Intellectual Property and Innovation by Greenville Business Magazine and Charleston Business Magazines. “There are only a select few firms in South Carolina that are boutique intellectual property firms and to have our entire team recognized by our peers in Legal Elite is quite an honor. This recognition confirms the commitment we have to our clients and to providing excellent legal services that help our clients create and protect their intellectual property. This reaffirms our continuing commitment to our clients to assist them with matching legal strategies with their business goals to grow their companies and innovations,” commented firm founder, Doug Kim.
The IP attorneys named Legal Elite include firm founders Doug Kim and Seann Lahey as well as B.C. Killough, Hunter Freeman, and Robert Merting.
In addition to the firm’s core intellectual property practice, the firm supports businesses with corporate counsel. Business attorneys Casey Martens, Anthony Nolte and Emily Bohan were each recognized for their work in corporate matters: Casey was named for her work in Employment Law – Defendants and Emily Bohan was listed for Corporate Law – Business Organization matters.
Greenville business attorney Anthony Nolte rounds out Kim, Lahey & Killough’s whole team of Legal Elite, named for his work in Corporate Law-Merger & Acquisitions. Licensed in both South Carolina and Texas, Tony is a former business and financial executive as well as in-house counsel for Shell, among other successful ventures. He concentrates his legal work in the areas of company structure and formation, start-ups, early-stage and growth companies, corporate governance, mergers, divestitures, and acquisitions, financings, franchising & licensing, contracts, business succession, business disputes & resolutions. Outside of the office, Tony Nolte is an Angel Investor, teaches as an adjunct professor at Furman University, mentors startups in the Greenville ecosystem, serves as a limited partner in the Greenville Next Founders Fund I and is a member of VentureSouth.
The Legal Elite are selected annually through peer nominations from attorneys throughout the state of South Carolina in 50 legal practice areas.
About Kim, Lahey & Killough
With offices in Greenville and Charleston, SC and Brevard, NC, the Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate, to the Lowcountry to across the globe.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmSeann Lahey named to GSSM Board
Kim, Lahey & Killough congratulates Greenville registered patent attorney and firm founder Seann Lahey, who has been elected to the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics (GSSM) Foundation board of directors for 2025-2026.
Seann Lahey is known for his work in STEM fields as an intellectual property attorney. He has extensive experience dealing with international and U.S. patent prosecution, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing of intellectual property rights, and rendering legal opinions on validity, infringement and enforceability of intellectual property rights, as well as IP litigation.
What’s more, Seann is a parent of a recent alum of the GSSM, affording him the ability to advocate for the school from multiple perspectives. “I’m deeply honored to join the Foundation Board of Directors for GSSM,” he commented. “As a parent of a GSSM alum, I can attest to the incredible work and dedication of everyone involved with the school. I look forward to contributing to our shared mission of fostering academic excellence and supporting the brilliant minds of tomorrow.”
Beth Dinndorf, executive director of the GSSM Foundation, added, “We are grateful to the new directors, the new board officers, and all members of the GSSM Foundation Board of Directors for their leadership and commitment to the mission of GSSM and the students it serves. Their collective talents and contributions help GSSM remain the top-ranked public high school in South Carolina, providing an exceptional STEM education to more than 10,000 students in grades 3 through 12 each year.”
About Kim, Lahey & Killough
With offices in Greenville and Charleston, SC and Brevard, NC, the Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate, to the Lowcountry to across the globe. For more information, visit the firm website at kimandlahey.com .
About the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics
The South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics (GSSM) is a nationally ranked top 10 public high school that exists to bring world-class STEM education to students across the state. Founded in 1988 by Gov. Carroll Campbell, GSSM is a state resource that offers a variety of programs including an intensive two-year residential high school, a challenging virtual engineering program, summer camps, and in-school experiences for students in 3rd through 12th grades. The GSSM Foundation advocates for GSSM and provides funds and support to enhance its programs and students’ educational endeavors. Learn more at www.scgssm.org. Read GSSM’s press release announcing the 2025-2026 Board here.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmFive attorneys named to 2025 Super Lawyers
Five Kim, Lahey & Killough attorneys named in 2025 South Carolina Super Lawyers
Kim, Lahey & Killough is pleased to announce that five of its attorneys have been recognized in the 2025 edition of South Carolina Super Lawyers, a legal ranking published by Thomson Reuters.
Four patent attorneys with Kim, Lahey & Killough – Doug Kim, Seann Lahey, B.C. Killough and Hunter Freeman – were named among the state’s top-rated intellectual property attorneys. “I am honored to share this recognition with my law partners and am proud that these honors recognize not only individual achievement, but also the depth and strength of our intellectual property team in South Carolina,” commented founding attorney Doug Kim.
Casey Martens has been named in the 2025 South Carolina Rising Stars list as a top-rated employment and labor attorney in the Greenville market – her fifth year earning this recognition.
Super Lawyers recognizes no more than five percent of the lawyers statewide each year, and Rising Stars honors only 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state. Both lists are compiled by Thomson Reuters, a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
About Kim, Lahey & Killough
With offices in Greenville and Charleston, SC and Brevard, NC, the Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate, to the Lowcountry to across the globe.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm2025 Paralegal scholarship awarded
Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm congratulates Madison Gilstrap, the winner of our annual Paralegal Scholarship with Tri-County Technical College Foundation. This merit scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates academic excellence, dedication and passion for the legal profession. Ms. Gilstrap has shared that this scholarship will allow her to take her remaining classes in order to graduate this Spring semester.
Tri-County Technical College is a public, two-year community and technical college serving Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties in South Carolina and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). The Criminal Justice, Paralegal Emphasis program at TCTC is an associate degree program offered both at the Pendleton Campus and online. The College advances economic development in the tri-county region by preparing a highly skilled workforce.
Kim, Lahey & Killough is committed to supporting education in our community and are proud to invest in the next generation of legal professionals. With offices in Greenville and Charleston, SC and Brevard, NC, the Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate, to the Lowcountry to across the globe. For more information, visit the firm website at kimandlahey.com.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmKim, Lahey & Killough Listed in 2025 Best Law Firms
Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm has been named in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms® in Greenville and Charleston. Firms included in the 2025 Best Law Firms list are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Each year since its formation, Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm has received this esteemed recognition.
Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are listed on a national and regional-based scale. Firms that receive a tier designation reflect the highest level of respect a firm can earn among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and practice areas.
The Kim, Lahey & Killough Charleston office is recognized in the areas of Trademark Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, Corporate Law and Business Organizations (LLCs and Partnerships).
In the Greenville, SC market, the firm is recognized in the areas of Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Law and Patent Litigation.
With offices in Greenville and Charleston, SC, and Brevard, NC, Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate to the Lowcountry to across the globe. The firm serves the manufacturing, software, energy, finance, hospitality, tourism, defense, agriculture and technology industries as well as universities. Key practice areas include intellectual property, business and commercial litigation, mediation, employment, corporate and business matters including formation and structure, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, and cybersecurity.
by Kim, Lahey & Killough Law FirmFive Kim Lahey Killough attorneys named 2025 Best Lawyers
Five Kim Lahey Killough attorneys named in Best Lawyers for work in intellectual property, corporate and employment law
Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is honored to announce that five of the firm attorneys are named in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 edition:
Charleston patent attorney B. C. Killough is recognized for his work in:
- Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships)
- Corporate Law
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Patent Law
- Trademark Law
Previously, Killough was honored as the Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year for the Charleston metro in 2015.
In the Greenville, SC metro market, four Kim, Lahey & Killough attorneys are recognized, including firm founder Douglas W. Kim, who is honored for his work in the areas of:
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Litigation – Patent
- Patent Law
- Trade Secrets Law
- Trademark Law
Kim has previously been recognized as a Lawyer of the Year in Greenville, SC, in two of these areas: as Trademark Lawyer of the Year in 2022 and the Patent Lawyer of the Year in 2019.
Greenville intellectual property attorney Seann Lahey
is recognized for his work in:
- Trademark Law
Additionally, Seann has extensive experience dealing with international and U.S. patent prosecution. His practice also regularly includes matters on trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, licensing of intellectual property rights, and rendering legal opinions on validity, infringement and enforceability of intellectual property rights, as well as litigation involving intellectual property rights.
IP attorney Hunter S. Freeman
is commended for his work in:
- Commercial Litigation
- Copyright Law
- Litigation – Intellectual Property
- Trademark Law
As an Intellectual Property attorney, experienced litigator and certified mediator, Hunter Freeman’s 20+ years of experience and insight provide novel ways for clients to create value through the protection, prosecution and enforcement of their IP.
Attorney Casey Martens practices employment and business law in both the Greenville SC and Brevard NC offices of Kim, Lahey & Killough. Licensed in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, her law practice focuses in the areas of business disputes and litigation, state and federal employment law, drafting and enforcement of restrictive covenants, and business disputes involving tortious interference with contract. Casey is recognized as a 2025 Best Lawyers One to Watch in America in the areas of:
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law
- Labor and Employment Law – Employee
- Labor and Employment Law – Management
- Litigation – Labor and Employment
Since 1983, The Best Lawyers in America has compiled and reviewed peer evaluations from across the United States to identify an annual list of honorees. The Best Lawyers in America recognizes only the top 5.3% of lawyers in the nation across 150 practice areas.
With offices in Greenville and Charleston, SC and Brevard, NC, the Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm is devoted to helping clients establish, enforce, and leverage their intellectual property rights from the Upstate, to the Lowcountry to across the globe.