Joel (“Jay”) Anderson Berly IV was born and raised in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. After attending Mason Preparatory School for first through eighth grade, he graduated from Wando High School in 2008 and attended Wake Forest University to obtain his undergraduate degree in Economics, with a minor in Environmental Science. Although Jay left South Carolina to attend college, he never doubted that he would return home to serve his local community, following in his family’s footsteps as trial lawyers dedicated to serving the South Carolina and assisting those who have been injured or wronged and working tirelessly to ensure they are made whole.

After college, Jay started working for two environmental non-profits focused on protecting the coastal region of the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Eventually, Jay decided to return to Wake Forest, where he obtained his Masters in Studies of Law (“MSL”) and Juris Doctorate, which culminated in his graduation from the Wake Forest University School of Law in May 2017. Since that time, Jay has worked tirelessly to help South Carolinians with a variety of legal issues. He started his career at a prominent, boutique plaintiff’s law firm in Columbia, South Carolina, before spending two years as a federal law clerk to the Honorable Judge Mary G. Lewis and the Honorable (former) Chief Judge R. Bryan Harwell. Through these experiences, Jay gained invaluable insight into the inner workings of South Carolina courts and observed many experienced litigators work to perfect their craft in both state and federal court.

Following the privilege of clerking with both Judges, Jay spent approximately 4 years as an associate at one the 200 largest law firms in North America. During this time, Jay had the opportunity to work on cases as both a plaintiff’s attorney and as a defense attorney and he worked on cases on both sides from pre-suit negotiations all the way through trial preparation and execution. He gained invaluable insights into the minds of litigators from all walks of life, which in turn has prepared him to represent each and every client based on their unique needs and the facts and law applicable to each client’s case.

As a founding member of Berly Rouse, Jay works tirelessly to ensure that people who have been harmed or injured and need legal assistance are able to obtain the relief necessitated by each accident. Specifically, Jay’s present practice area focuses on excelling in the representation of clients in a variety of areas, including:

• Motor Vehicle Collisions
• Trucking Accidents
• Slip and Fall Accidents
• Dram Shop Liability
• Medical Malpractice
• Nursing Home Malpractice
• Toxic Torts, including asbestos, tobacco, and environmental exposure cases; and
• Commercial Litigation, including lease disputes, corporate and LLC disputes, trade secret litigation, and other related business litigation.

In Jay’s time away from the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife Grae in their home in downtown Charleston. Jay is also an avid outdoor enthusiast and enjoys volunteering with the South Carolina Bar to assist law students and young lawyers as they enter the practice of law. Jay is currently the Co-Chair of the Annual Bar Convention Committee for the Young Lawyers’ Division of the South Carolina Bar, and he was voted “Rising Star of the Quarter” for the first quarter of 2024. Jay is committed to not only vigorously representing his clients, but also improving and growing the impact that the Young Lawyers Division can have on individuals in need around the state of South Carolina.