Founder and Senior Partner
South Carolina attorney Ed Bell founded Bell Legal Group more than 40 years ago. With offices in Georgetown, SC and Raleigh, NC, he focuses his practice on a variety of cases that range from medical malpractice, personal injury, automobile safety and defects, product liability, environmental law, police misconduct, and prison abuse.
During his 40-year career as a South Carolina lawyer, Ed Bell has distinguished himself as a top litigation attorney at local, state, and national levels through his ability to relate to jurors and explain the difficult aspects of complex litigation matters. His experience put him at the forefront of jury research, when he was involved in the initial founding of the Arvada Jury Project, a research project that analyzed the impact of trial lawyers and jury attitudes. This project drastically changed the way trial attorneys present their cases to juries.
Ed’s unique approach to litigation also led him to establish a research center at his firm headquarters in Georgetown. Through his experience as a South Carolina trial attorney, Ed developed this center to assist Bell Legal Group attorneys with unraveling the technical intricacies in a case and transforming them into a story that can be easily told to jurors. In the center, engineers, researchers, and support staff follow cases from beginning to end, exploring a case’s complex facts, researching medical topics, investigating defects in automobiles, building trial exhibits, and untangling the complex nature of each issue surrounding malpractice, personal injury, and accident cases.
Ed has been named as lead counsel in numerous civil complex litigation cases throughout the United States and brings a unique perspective along with strong litigation experience. He has tried more than 400 cases nationally and throughout the state.
Ed, a native of Sumter, lives in Georgetown, where he enjoys spending time with his wife, five children and seven grandchildren.
Areas of Practice
Medical Malpractice
Personal Injury
Defective Products
Nursing Home Abuse
Mass Torts
Camp Lejeune
Bar & Court Admissions
South Carolina Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, Court of South Carolina
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Publications & Recognitions
US News and World Report Best Law Firms in South Carolina
(2012, 2015, 2017, 2019)
Top Lawyers of South Carolina, as published in Columbia Living
(2012, 2015, 2016, 2020)
Featured on ABC 2020 and Court TV
Helped shepherd the Camp Lejeune Justice Act (2022)
‘Top 10 Environmental Trial Lawyer’ by National Trial Lawyers (2020 – Present)
Education
Wofford College, B.A., 1975
University of South Carolina, J.D., 1978
Professional Associations & Memberships
American Bar Association
American Association for Justice
Federal Bar Association
South Carolina Association for Justice (Former Board Member)
South Carolina Bar Association
Charleston School of Law, President, and Chairman of the Board (2015-Present)