A Rock Hill native, Zach Griffin began working with Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys as an intern in 2012. Zach graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in business administration in 2016. He served as the Director of the University’s Congressional Advisory Board and Founding Director of the Legislative Action Network, student groups dedicated to higher education advocacy in the national and state governments, respectively.
After college, Zach worked with AmeriCorps VISTA, helping international and local nonprofits improve early childhood, primary, and secondary education in the Washington, D.C., area. In 2017, he returned to South Carolina to work on Tommy Pope’s Congressional campaign before attending law school.
In 2018, Zach was awarded the inaugural Russell M. Robinson II Scholarship at Duke University School of Law, where he earned his law degree in 2021. He served as the director of Lawyers for Literacy, a program dedicated to improving literacy in underserved schools, and a member of First-Generation Professionals. Zach is the first in his family to graduate from college or law school.
While attending law school, Zach clerked for the Sixteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office in York, South Carolina, working on criminal matters ranging from DUIs and drug charges to armed robbery and murder cases. After his second year of law school, Zach worked on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and securities fraud as a summer associate for a multinational firm based in New York City. Zach worked full-time during his third year of law school as Elrod Pope’s Marketing Manager.
In addition to his legal practice at Elrod Pope, Zach serves as the Secretary for the York County Bar Association Executive Board and a member of the Gregory-Hayes Inn of Court. He volunteers with local high school debate clubs and participates in local political campaigns, including managing Tommy Pope’s State House races. Zach is recognized on the South Carolina Pro Bono Honor Roll and North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society for serving clients through the V.A.L.O.R. Clinic and personal initiatives.
Education:
B.A., University of South Carolina, magna cum laude, 2016
J.D., Duke University School of Law, 2021
Honors:
National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40
South Carolina Pro Bono Honor Roll, 2023
North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society, 2023
Admissions:
South Carolina Bar
United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
North Carolina Bar
United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina
Memberships & Involvement:
South Carolina Association for Justice
York County Bar Association Executive Board
North Carolina Bar Association
South Carolina Bar