Mount Pleasant Magazine Jan/Feb2016

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hen searching FOr
a litigation lawyer, often
it’s the flashy television
commercials with people
holding up bundles of cash
that come to mind, but
that is not Waggoner Law
Firm’s style.
“Small firm attention, big firm punch,” said owner
Geoff Waggoner. “That’s our goal here.”
Waggoner, who has been practicing law for more than
35 years, opened Waggoner Law
Firm eight years
ago in Mount Pleasant. The small firm
is comprised of Waggoner, attorney
Julia Flumian and two support staff.
“We are trial lawyers. That means
we’ll go to court if we have to, unlike
some of those you see on television,”
Waggoner explained. “Without
television marketing, I can’t rely on
a high volume of callers looking for
a quick monetary fix. We depend on
word of mouth and referrals from past
clients or other lawyers who are familiar with what we do.
If I take your case, I take you on as my own client and I
will fight for you.”
As the walls of his office reflect, Geoff Waggoner has
handled personal injury cases ranging from auto accidents to
medical cases, inadequate security against crime, malicious
prosecution, false arrest, defective products and defamation.
“It doesn’t have to happen on the roadway or in an
operating room,” he said. “But it almost always involves an
individual who has been hurt because of wrongful conduct.”
The firm also handles divorce and probate cases,
primarily by Flumian.
Waggoner hasn’t always dreamed of being a lawyer. In
fact, he had an interest in medicine from a young age. After
working with a doctor on an Indian reservation in North
Dakota when he was 15 and later assisting with autopsies at a
Small FirmAttention,
Big Firm Punch
Waggoner Law Firm:
By Anne TOOLe
hospital, he attended Duke University as a pre-med student.
“In my sophomore year, I was persuaded that I didn’t
have the aptitude for higher level sciences,” Waggoner
laughed. “But as a child, I liked lawyer shows, and I liked
to debate. So I switched gears. There are two sides to
every story, and being a lawyer is like playing chess: You
anticipate moves; you know your strengths and weaknesses
and play off them. Luckily, what I do now sometimes
involves medicine. I can keep the interest up and refer to
the medical texts without having to understand upper level
chemistry. I actually love being a lawyer.”
After graduating from Duke with a degree in
psychology, Waggoner spent a year
as a criminal investigator for the
state of New Jersey before attending
law school at the University of South
Carolina.
“I’m fact-driven. My grandfather
on my mother’s side was a cop, and
my father was a reporter, so I’m all
about evidence and bad guys vs. good
guys. Kind of like David and Goliath,
I like fighting for the individual,”
Waggoner said.
Today, he finds inspiration through a variety of
experiences, such as growing up in Europe while his father
was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times,
and, more recently, by immersing himself in the local
community, serving on the board of directors for Crime
Stoppers of the Lowcountry and the Exchange Club of
Mount Pleasant. In addition, he is a former member of the
Charleston County School Board.
“I’m not out there trying to bring in every case,”
Waggoner explained. “But for the cases we do take on, my
intent is that you get very focused representation – small
firm attention; big firm punch.”
Waggoner Law Firm is located at 501 Belle Hall Parkway,
Suite 202, in Mount Pleasant. To learn more, visit
or call 843-972-0426.
W
Photo courtesy of Waggoner Law Firm.
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