State Supreme Court suspends Alex Murdaugh’s law license

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Supreme Court suspended the law license of a Lowcountry attorney who was wounded in a reported shooting two months after his wife and son were killed in Colleton County.

An order filed by the state’s high court on Wednesday states Alex Murdaugh’s license to practice law in South Carolina “is suspended until further order” of the court.

The suspension comes just days after Murdaugh announced he resigned from his Hampton County law firm and was entering rehab.

Shortly before Murdaugh resigned, it was reported that he was grazed in the head in a shooting along a rural road in Hampton County Saturday. He then released a statement after the shooting:

The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life. I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret. I’m resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated by these murders. I am immensely sorry to everyone I’ve hurt including my family, friends and colleagues. I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships.

The Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick law firm said Murdaugh is no longer associated with them, after Murdaugh’s own lawyer said Murdaugh was being accused of diverting lawyer fees.

Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, 52; and their son, Paul, 22, were shot to death at the family’s hunting property in the rural Islandton community of Colleton County in June.

Their deaths have been the center of controversy, after Paul Murdaugh was charged in the 2019 boating death of Mallory Beach.

The family has strong connections to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which serves Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper Counties.

Members of the Murdaugh family ran the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office for about 87 years, believed to be the longest consecutive run in American history.

Court documents released after Paul and Maggie’s murders revealed a prior potential conspiracy to shift blame for the deadly 2019 boat crash away from Paul Murdaugh.

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating both the double slaying and the weekend shooting incident.

No arrests have been made in either case.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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