LowcountryBizSC: A Conversation with Sam Allen, The Clore Law Group
LowcountryBizSC:
Tell us about the Clore Law Group. What is your core business?
Sam Allen:
The firm is focused on resolving challenging and often complex cases that involve catastrophic injury or business loss. Most of the cases that we take on are significant enough to warrant litigation. We try to educate people about the complexities involved with litigation so they can make an informed decision whether or not to proceed.
About half of our cases come directly from the client. The other half is referred to us by other lawyers. Other law firms will often refer clients to a firm such as ours to either handle the case directly, or to team with them to develop the case.
LowcountryBizSC:
What is the education and background of the law firm’s principals?
Sam Allen:
I am a graduate of Tennessee Technological University, where I earned an associate degree in sociology and a bachelor’s degree in political science. I earned my law degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. In 2012, I was proud to be named by the National Trial Lawyers Association to the Top 40 Under 40 and was recently named a Rising Star.
Partner Mark Clore earned his bachelor’s degree from Rice University and his law degree from South Texas College of Law. His pre-trial preparation has resulted in record jury verdicts. He brings demonstrative evidence skills into trial and works closely with other key legal professionals on the team to pursue justice and win cases on behalf of injured clients.
Associate Attorney Eric S. Brock holds a law degree from the Cumberland School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is admitted to practice in Georgia and South Carolina, and before the U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina.
E. Vernon F. Glenn, of counsel to the firm, is a board certified civil trial lawyer who has been practicing law for over 30 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law. Glenn, who is one of only 26 certified civil trial lawyers in South Carolina and one of only 14 in North Carolina, has testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging.
LowcountryBizSC:
What is the geographic scope of the firm?
Sam Allen:
We are headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, but we practice law in multiple states. We are licensed in eight states and the District of Columbia. Generally, we can handle cases from the “Rockies east.” The West Coast is a bit too much of a distance barrier for us to effectively deal with a case in a timely manner.
LowcountryBizSC:
Define the type of work that you take on.
Sam Allen:
The first thing that people think about when they hear the word “injury” is injuries to the brain or spinal cord, where someone may have suffered some form of long-term permanent damage. But a business can also suffer catastrophic injury, where their financial loss is significant enough that it will affect the business long-term.
The Clore Law Group has represented personal injury and wrongful death claims resulting from trucking and auto accidents, explosions and fires, construction accidents, commercial transportation, defective products and drugs, medical malpractice, dangerous premises, personal and physical safety breaches, slander and libel, and other injuries and accidents. The firm also handles business and personal losses, including contract claims, hurricane, flood, and insurance claims, building design and defects, and financial losses.
LowcountryBizSC:
How does a law firm like the Clore Law Group earn revenue?
Sam Allen:
Most people’s interaction with lawyers is to pay them an hourly rate. Lawyers at a law firm such as ours typically work on a contingency basis where we receive a percentage of the recovery earned. There is no fixed percentage; it is an economic decision that is agreed upon with our clients. It is case dependent.
We believe that a lawyer who is working on a contingency basis has a vested interest in your case. But as the cost of litigation has increased, we are starting to see more quasi contingency/ hourly rate plans for litigation cases.
The cost of litigation is not going down.
LowcountryBizSC:
What are you most proud of?
Sam Allen:
I am very proud that we give our clients the highest level of representation. We investigate matters that are significant to our clients, and we do so in a very detailed manner. The firm’s attorneys have extensive experience in taking cases to trial and a formidable track record in winning settlements and jury trials through advanced case analysis and trial science. The attorneys at the firm have been responsible for nearly $100 million in recoveries through jury trials, and each of the firm’s attorneys has successfully handled a case resulting in an award of over $1 million.
This is our job, but it is also our lives. We take on our clients with the understanding that they have suffered a loss and that they are trying to find normalcy. Being able to deliver that back to them is key.
LowcountryBizSC:
Outline a few of your favorite or most impactful cases.
Sam Allen:
The favorite cases are the ones that have brought a meaningful and positive change to my client’s life or business future. The primary ones that come to mind are the child injury cases that have allowed us to provide financial care programs that assure the child’s needs and personal growth, no matter their physical limitations. A child, for example, who will never be able to speak or interact without the use of technology is provided not only the equipment but also the educational support that enables the child to participate in school and with his or her peers. A child that 20 years ago would be in an institution or limited to a bed now has full access to the world around them.
The most impactful cases are likely the smaller ones. A business owner, for instance, who has been tied up in the cycle of litigation without an economically feasible way out retains our firm to litigate the matter. We put the case on an expedited trial schedule. The business is not only successful in litigation, but it also survives when it might otherwise have to close its doors. Small cases like this are important as any other — who knows which of these small businesses will be the next Apple or Oracle? Only time will tell, but without sound legal advice these businesses may never have survived to reach their potential.
LowcountryBizSC:
What role do you see the firm playing in the Charleston community?
Sam Allen:
I am proud to say that the Clore Law Group supports all of its members and staff in their community involvement. We believe that the Clore Law Group will be most effective if the passions of each of its members are supported by the whole. To ensure this, we allow the group to sponsor pro bono projects and those based on personal civic interest. That currently includes a youth mentor program, several community churches, a professional bicycle team, and several high school and youth teams.
