Reese Joye

1938-2008

In Memory of Reese I. Joye

On Sunday, July 20, 2008, the members of Joye Law Firm lost their founder and president, Reese I. Joye.

Mr. Joye, 70, passed away in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He had been in Massachusetts attending an annual trial advocacy summer conference at Harvard University, an event he organized, and was set to return to Charleston on that day.

A tenacious litigator who focused on protecting the rights of individuals, Mr. Joye founded the Joye Law Firm in 1968. He tried hundreds of cases before juries over the last 30 years and authored several legal books. He was known for his knowledge of DUI cases in addition to personal injury law. In 1997, the firm sued Daimler Chrysler for more than $262.5 million, winning the largest settlement in South Carolina history and one of the largest settlements against a car manufacturer in the United States.

Additionally, Mr. Joye was a founding member of the National College for DUI Defense, founding president of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the primary organizer of the Charleston County Public Defender's Office. He was instrumental in the debate in drafting the state's DUI law over the past few years. In 2006, he was one of three attorneys asked to help draft legislation to replace South Carolina's DUI laws.

Reese Joye was a man invested in his community and dedicated to his practice. A native South Carolinian, Mr. Joye was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Bennettsville High School in 1956 and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed." From there he earned both his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of South Carolina.

Mr. Joye is survived by his wife, Jackie, three children, including firm partner Mark Joye, and five grandchildren.

Everyone at Joye Law Firm would like to thank those who have shared their kind words and condolences. Reese Joye was an incredible attorney, an outstanding individual, and a born leader.