Ward and Smith, P.A., is pleased to announce the addition of Michael H. Weaver to the firm's Corporate and Creditors' Rights practice.
Michael joined the firm on September 29 and will be based in the firm's new Columbia, South Carolina office.
"We are thrilled to welcome Michael to Ward and Smith," stated Co-Managing Director Brad Evans. "His extensive experience in creditors' rights, business, and commercial litigation, combined with his deep roots in South Carolina's legal community, makes him an ideal leader for our Columbia office. Michael's reputation for excellence and his commitment to clients align perfectly with our firm's values."
Michael focuses his practice on creditors' rights and collection law, bankruptcy, commercial litigation, corporate transactions, board governance, and fiduciary duty matters. He also advises corporate debtors as well as lenders and other secured and unsecured creditors with debt collection efforts, including litigation, workouts, collateral dispositions such as foreclosures and UCC sales, evictions, and post-judgment collection matters.
His bankruptcy practice includes representing clients in complex matters and related litigation, including defending against fraudulent transfer, preferential transfer, automatic stay violation, and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Michael also represents court-appointed receivers in state and federal court receivership matters.
Michael's corporate practice enables him to assist clients with commercial lending, entity formation, asset acquisitions and dispositions, lease transactions, corporate governance, and fiduciary duty matters. He also guides clients through complex transactions, ranging from asset purchases of distressed companies to minority-owner acquisitions and lease negotiations.
Michael earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2000. Born and raised in Raleigh, he worked as a financial analyst with IBM in Research Triangle Park prior to attending law school. He graduated cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2004.
A respected leader in the South Carolina legal community, Michael served as President of the South Carolina Bankruptcy Law Association in 2019 and as a Board Member from 2015 to 2019. He has also served as Secretary of the J. Bratton Davis Bankruptcy American Inn of Court from 2021 to 2024 and is a past Board Member of the Midlands Business Leadership Group. Michael is also a past Board Member of the United Way of the Midlands and received the organization's Volunteer of the Year Award in 2016. He is a graduate of Leadership Columbia (2011) and Leadership South Carolina (2017) and was honored as one of The State's Twenty Under Forty in 2017.
"I am excited to join Ward and Smith and to help establish the firm's presence in Columbia," said Michael. "The firm's reputation for client service, collaborative culture, and commitment to the communities it serves appealed to me. I look forward to working with my new teammates to serve South Carolina clients, and to recruiting more passionate and client-centered colleagues to the firm in South Carolina."
Michael is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina, and the South Carolina State Courts.
Get in Touch:
Michael H. Weaver
mhweaver@wardandsmith.com
Direct: 803.766.6625
Ward and Smith Columbia Office
The Meridian Building
1320 Main Street, Suite 300
Columbia, SC 29201
Office Phone: 803.766.6150
Office Fax: 803.766.4611
