Our Elite Legal Team

Phil Thompson is an AV-Preeminent rated “ Highest Legal Ability and Highest Ethical Standards” attorney with deep roots in South Carolina. He was born in Conway, SC and is a 1979 graduate of Conway High School, 1990 graduate of Coastal Carolina College (now University), and a 1995 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. Ranking in the top fifteen percent of his law class, Thompson was admitted into the honor society, The Order of the Wig and Robe.

Thompson started practicing law in 1996. His practice areas include Commercial and Residential Transactions, Civil Dispute and Resolution, Collections, Civil Litigation and Estate Planning. He is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association and Horry County Bar Association. 

Thompson is a respected partner in the region’s business community. With proven success for his clients and a heart for service, he has consistently contributed to the quality of life in the Grand Strand area.

Michael Smith is an AV Preeminent top-rated attorney. In 2020, Smith was honored to receive recognition as the state’s “Worthy Adversary” by the South Carolina Association For Justice. The Association honors defense attorneys who display exemplary professionalism, honesty and ethical behavior in their practice of law. The American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell selected Smith as a “Top Rated Lawyer in Insurance Law” in 2014.

Smith’s vast litigation experience encompasses insurance defense, personal injury, construction defects, and general commercial civil litigation. He has an active mediation practice (since 1994) for all types of civil litigation.

Smith graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina in 1979. He earned his juris doctor in 1982 from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He has practiced law continuously in Horry County since his admission to the SC Bar in 1982 and has practiced with Thompson and Henry, P.A. since 1990. Smith is a member of the Horry County Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar, and the South Carolina Defense Trial Lawyers Association. He served as the Horry County Bar Association president in 1994. Smith is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Smith and his family live in Conway and continue to serve, giving their time and talents to help improve the community in which they live and love. Smith’s community involvement includes: past president of the Horry County Gamecock Club, a past president of the Grand Strand Family YMCA Board of Directors, a graduate of Leadership Grand Strand, various leadership roles in his church, and a coach for Conway recreation youth football, baseball and basketball.

Ashley Gwin focuses her practice on civil litigation defense work. Over her eleven years of practicing, she has defended a wide array of clients, including individuals involved in automobile accidents, doctors and hospitals in medical malpractice lawsuits, and contractors in construction defect cases.

Gwin is a member of the South Carolina Bar and the Horry County Bar Association. She is admitted to practice law in South Carolina and the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. She grew up in Conway and graduated from Conway High School. Gwin then earned a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Following college, she earned her juris doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Gwin lives with her husband and son in downtown Conway, SC. Gwin and her family have deep roots in the area and are committed to serving and improving the lives of their neighbors, their church family, and their community. 

Linda Gangi has received a Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished Peer Rating, indicating she is widely respected for high professional achievement and ethical standards in her legal practice. Gangi is a general civil litigation trial, mediation and appeals attorney with areas of practice including insurance defense, personal injury, and construction defects. 

Gangi earned her B.A. with honors in 1976 from the University of North Carolina, and her JD. From the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1979 where she became a member of Phi Delta Phi, an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Gangi has been admitted to practice law since 1979 in South Carolina, the U.S. District Court of South Carolina and U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. 

With over 40 years experince practicing law in Horry County, Gangi is one of the area’s most respected leaders and mentors in business, in her personal relationships, and in the community.