Education
J.D., Washington & Lee School of Law, manga cum laude, 2008
Editorial Board, Washington & Lee Law Review
B.A., American University, 1996
My clients don’t consider themselves to be litigious people. But when someone hurts them or someone they love, they won’t sit back passively and let the wrongdoer avoid responsibility.
My clients bring me in to help them navigate a complex legal process. I have personally represented billionaires, the wrongfully convicted, parents of children who were seriously hurt or killed by others, C-suite executives at publicly traded companies, working parents simply trying to hold things together after a serious injury, and working professionals wondering how to survive after they have been harmed, defrauded, or had their civil rights violated.
No matter their background, my clients all share a common concern: they realized that the legal system can be far too complex, risky, and unfair to navigate on their own. And they wanted me to take them through the process to ensure someone would be held accountable.
My clients don’t consider themselves to be litigious people. But when someone hurts them or someone they love, they won’t sit back passively and let the wrongdoer avoid responsibility.
If you’re reading this, chances are you or someone you know has been hurt, and it’s affecting you in ways you never could have anticipated.
A disrupted life, medical bills, lost income, and the emotional burden of dealing with an event forced on you through no fault of your own. Or maybe you don’t quite trust the motives of the insurance company that wants you to sign a few documents or to provide a “recorded statement” before they will pay your claim.
When irresponsible people are forced to answer for what they did, a clear message is delivered that their way of doing things is over.
The idea of having to retain a lawyer simply to be made whole again might feel uncomfortable, particularly if you are not one quick to sue. You’re not alone—many people (including my business owner clients) feel the same way due to the way a few people try to take advantage of our system. But here’s the truth: seeking accountability doesn’t make you a “litigious” person—it’s about standing up for yourself or your family the same way major corporations turn to our legal system when they are wronged and need to resolve a dispute. You shouldn’t feel hesitant about standing up to reckless people or corporations simply because you’ve never been put in this position before.
When irresponsible people are forced to answer for what they did, a clear message is delivered that their way of doing things is over. My clients hire me to bring about significant change on their behalf—change that helps them recover and that protects others from experiencing what you are going through now.
After a decade of litigating high-profile corporate cases in Washington, DC at one of the top firms in the country, Skadden Arps, I moved to South Carolina to leverage my complex litigation experience on behalf of people who need it the most. I get tremendous professional satisfaction in helping good people fight and win against bad actors, large institutions, and insurance companies unwilling to do the right thing. Since landing in Mount Pleasant six years ago, I have been litigating some of the most challenging and complex injury, wrongful death, and civil rights cases in South Carolina. And I have recovered millions of dollars for my clients that otherwise would have gone unpaid.
Colin is a trial-tested litigator who represents individuals and families in a wide range of negligence, civil rights, and fraud cases. He has successfully represented clients in complex litigation involving novel issues of law and has litigated legal issues all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Because the nature of his practice often requires him to tackle difficult legal problems other lawyers shy away from, he brings to each case a level of determination and creativity to help seek out a just result for his clients.
Prior to starting this firm, Colin spent almost a decade litigating complex civil and criminal matters at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C, where he handled dozens of high-profile cases for individuals and large multi-national companies. While at Skadden, Colin successfully litigated numerous fraud cases brought under the False Claims Act and other federal statutes, including corporate fraud cases. He and his family then relocated to Mount Pleasant where he began representing plaintiffs in complex civil cases at a well-regarded trial firm.
Colin served in the U.S. Navy as an Intelligence Specialist, providing terrorism and threat assessments for naval forces transiting hostile regions. Before that, he traded financial derivative instruments on the trading floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and on various worldwide exchanges.
Colin is active in charitable and community endeavors as well, including serving on the board of directors of the Oda Foundation, a non-profit organization that develops health and education initiatives for impoverished children, and as former President of the Law Council of Washington and Lee University.
He is also a private, instrument-rated pilot based in Mount Pleasant who enjoys flying around South Carolina with his family when not practicing law.
Colin Ram specializes in helping people who have been injured physically or financially from the negligence or misconduct of others. Colin handles a wide range of cases, including wrongful death, car crash injuries, workplace accidents, injuries on someone else’s property, civil rights violations, civil fraud, and more.
Colin has represented many families who have suffered the worst loss imaginable: the death of a parent, sibling, or child. Colin’s approach in these cases is to investigate the root cause that goes well beyond what is found in a police report—locating reluctant witnesses, analyzing video evidence, finding hidden data, and calling in experts from around the country to examine the evidence and scene. By investigating the root cause, Colin can find out the truth behind what happened, gets answers that no one else will give you, and hold the responsible party accountable for what they took from your family.
Drunk driving is far more rampant in South Carolina than people want to admit. And Charleston has seen some awful drink driving crashes that have severely injured or killed innocent families. Colin understands the complexities of drunk driving cases, from finding and navigating hidden sources of insurance to pursuing legal action against the drunk drivers and the people that knowingly sent them out on the road.
Colin specializes in representing people who have been hurt or killed in car, airplane, and train accidents. As an aircraft pilot, Colin understands the mechanics of these types of cases, and more importantly, he understands how these injuries impact people’s day-to-day lives and relationships. With this knowledge, Colin can help you navigate the complexities of insurance, lost income, loss of enjoyment of life, and the enormous medical bills that comes with these injuries.
Suffering an injury at work, even a minor one, can be a traumatic experience, impacting not only your physical well-being but also your finances and livelihood. Often, there are third-parties responsible for what happened that are not easily identified or covered by the Worker’s Comp system. Colin evaluates all workplace injury claims with an eye to finding all responsible parties (not just your employer) and holding them accountable so you can get back to living your full life.
Whether you are a doctor, aerospace engineer, or line worker at one of the many manufacturing plants here in Charleston, and your application for employer-provided ERISA disability benefits has been denied, reach out to me as soon as possible. I can review your denial letter and help you navigate the very tight deadline you have to appeal your ERISA disability claim.
Dog and other dangerous animal bites can be surprisingly devastating, and small children and older adults are often the victims. In many cases, the dog owner knew they had a dangerous breed but didn’t bother to protect others from it. We see this a lot in Mount Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, and Isle of Palms, where dangerous dogs run free in parks and on the beaches and attack families and their pets. Colin represents families in these cases and has recovered money for victims well in excess of available insurance to cover their medical expenses and pain and suffering.
South Carolina is a beautiful place, but it has a long history steeped in civil rights battles that continue to be fought. Whether it’s a wrongful arrest, excessive force, or a government taking of private property, my clients bring me in to hold accountable those who abuse their authority and power.
Drunk Driver case brought a Charleston bar that massively overserved a drunk patron, who then drove away and collided head on with another car, killing the mother of an infant and toddler.
Commercial vehicle case brought on behalf of two out-of-state visitors who were seriously injured while riding aboard a resort-operated bus that crashed.
Default judgment in assault and battery case for two out-of-state visitors brutally assaulted by a security guard at a Charleston nightclub.
Hit and Run case brought a driver who rear ended a mother driving home after dropping off a donation at Goodwill, then racing away and leaving her in significant pain.
Train wreck injury case where an elderly passenger fell while riding aboard an Amtrak train that jolted due to poor train control by the engineer
Civil Rights case for a father who was repeatedly tazed and beaten by deputies from a local South Carolina sheriff’s office in front of his child.