Hon. J. Michael Baxley

Retired Circuit Judge J. Michael Baxley is a resident of Daniel Island, South Carolina, and manages the Jennings Law Charleston office. He is married to the former Kristina Young of Summerville, SC, also an attorney, and they are the proud parents of three children-Michael Jr. (born 2015), Grace (born 2017) and Will (born 2019).

Mike is originally from Hartsville, South Carolina, one of four sons of William H. (deceased) and Merle Davis Baxley. The Baxley Family was honored in 1985 by Governor Richard Riley as South Carolina's Family of the Year.

Mike showed an early interest in politics, serving as President of the Student Body at Hartsville High School, from which he graduated in 1974, and both Vice President and President of the Student Body at Clemson, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science with a minor in History in 1978. After working as a legislative assistant in Washington for the United States Congress for a year, where he also worked with lifelong friend Doug Jennings, he enrolled at the University of South Carolina School of Law, graduating in 1982. He returned to Hartsville as a partner in the firm of Driggers & Baxley, engaging in the general practice of law with an emphasis in civil litigation for almost twenty years.

In 1986, Mike was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives from District 65 which is comprised of portions of Chesterfield, Darlington, Kershaw, Lee, and Sumter counties. He was elected Chairman of the Freshman Caucus by his legislative colleagues and served on the House Judiciary Committee. Mike served in the Legislature for twelve years. During that time he was privileged to receive legislator of the year awards from such diverse groups as the South Carolina Ex-POW's; the South Carolina Association of the Deaf; the NAACP Youth Division; the South Carolina Rural Water Association; and the South Carolina Mental Health Association.

Mike did not seek re-election to the legislature in 1998 and returned to private law practice in Hartsville. He was elected by the General Assembly to a resident judicial seat of the Fourth Circuit (Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon and Marlboro Counties) on February 8, 2000 and served continuously until his retirement in April of 2014. Mike then went to work at South Carolina's water and electricity utility Santee Cooper as general counsel, serving until April of 2020, when he left to become associated with Jennings Law Firm.

With extensive experience in a variety of legal and business settings, the current focus of Mike's law practice is significant business and catastrophic personal injury litigation, representing claimants.

Mike has no greater pleasure than spending his spare time with Kristina and their children which is the greatest blessing in his life!