Nelson Mullins has a legacy of taking on large-scale litigation matters to promote the well-being of disadvantaged classes of individuals.

Advocacy for Prisoners with Mental Health Illnesses
The Firm represented Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities and a class of inmates with mental illnesses in a lawsuit against the SC Department of Corrections. After 10 years of litigation and two years of negotiations, a settlement was struck that could end what Judge Michael Baxley called the unconstitutional treatment of severely mentally ill offenders in the prison facilities.

Protecting the Rights of School Children
In Abbeville County School District v. State of South Carolina, Nelson Mullins represents a group of rural school districts, students and taxpayers in a groundbreaking lawsuit challenging the funding of public schools and the adequacy of the overall education system. The Supreme Court found the entire public education system to be constitutionally lacking. Since the decision, the South Carolina legislature has been examining the court’s opinion in anticipation of passing remedial legislation.

Nelson Mullins has proactively created and maintained robust programs to provide simple wills and healthcare directives free of charge to first responders who put their lives on the line to serve and protect.

Wills for Heroes
After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the Firm created the Wills For Heroes Program that provides free, simple wills and medical directives to first responders. Since the program’s inception, thousands of wills have been created for these individuals that protect us daily in our communities in Georgia, South Carolina and West Virginia. The Firm has expanded its wills programs to include the creation of the Habitat for Humanity Wills Project and the Zeb Alley Wills for Veterans. Several attorneys assisted Georgia Appleseed with the Promised Land Project to provide simple wills to low-income rural farmers.

The Firm worked in partnership with Eli Lilly and Company to help create and launch the Indianapolis Wills for Heroes Program.

The Firm sponsors and participates in several minority recruitment initiatives.

Nelson Mullins Diversity Scholarship Program - is open to 2L law students and is primarily designed to increase the number of diverse law students interested in summer and long-term employment with Nelson Mullins.  Awardees will receive a $10,000 scholarship and a salaried summer associate position at one of the Firm’s offices. The selection process coincides with Nelson Mullins’ regular summer associate recruiting process.

The Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP Scholarship Fund, a part of the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) General Scholarship Endowment – is supported by contributions from the Firm. The fund is the first MCLE scholarship fund honoring a law firm. It benefits lawyers who serve the public interest, including legal services staff attorneys, private practitioners who accept pro bono cases, and other deserving lawyers who, without financial assistance, would not be able to attend MCLE programs.

Nelson Mullins partners with Claflin University (a HBCU in Orangeburg, SC) for pre-law scholarships.

Since 2012, Nelson Mullins has partnered with clients and high schools in Columbia, South Carolina, to deliver Street Law diversity pipeline programs.

The Firm participates in the Atlanta Bar Association’s Minority Clerkship Program, which places minority first-year students from Georgia law schools with several large law firms in the Atlanta area.

In addition, the Firm has collaborated with clients and a local chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel to support Street Law Inc.’s legal diversity pipeline program initiatives, working with local high schools to enhance the awareness of opportunities within the legal profession and culminating with a hosted workshop at our office. We have also sponsored NJ LEEP’s Diversity Gala (New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment- a college access and success program).

Nelson Mullins is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, an organization of more than 200 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners whose mission is to create a truly diverse U.S. legal profession. In addition, we participate in the LCLD's Fellows program and in LCLD's 1L Scholars Program.

For over 20 years the firm has packed and sent over 300 “Nelson Mullins care packages” to military personnel overseas serving on the front lines of defense.

The firm has been very active in addressing homelessness in the communities in which it serves. Among the organizations we have supported include One80 Place (Charleston), Crossroads Community Ministries Inc. (Georgia), Family Promise of the Midlands (South Carolina), New Directions (Myrtle Beach), Transitions (Columbia), and the Salvation Army (South Carolina). The firm has organized or served as a consultant to the creation of homeless courts in Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Florence and in Charleston.