Joseph Bias is the first person I call when I have an educational law concern. He has always been willing to assist and has proven countless times that his legal expertise is top tier.

 Joseph is an experienced attorney and educator who started the JBLF in 2024 to provide legal services to individuals and educational institutions in South Carolina and nationwide. 

Joseph grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, the son of a Polish immigrant and a school nurse. Joseph attended school in the Midlands, graduating from Richland Northeast High School, where he excelled at Mock Trial, Speech and Debate, and student government. Joseph attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC after high school, where he served as the Chief of the Wofford Judicial Commission for two years, earning the "Heart of the Terrier" award for his service to the campus community. After college, Joseph attended the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was the Chief Justice of the Mock Trial Bar and was responsible for creating the school's highly competitive internal Trial Advocacy Competition. 

Joseph has a diverse legal career, beginning his career as a law clerk for the Honorable Alison Lee in Columbia before representing individuals charged with criminal offenses in Richland County as a public defender. Joseph then moved into private practice, where he represented school districts, government institutions, colleges, and businesses. In 2019, Joseph joined the team at Midlands Technical College as their General Counsel and Special Advisor to the President,  where he provides legal advice and assistance to Midlands Technical College Commission, Executive Council, President, and other college officials on complex legal matters, policy questions, and operational procedures. 

Additionally, Joseph serves as an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he is the lead professor of the Civil Litigation Capstone Course, which teaches third-year law students how to practically and ethically represent clients in South Carolina courts. Joseph is the former co-host of the "Direct Examination Podcast," available on Spotify, Apple, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Most importantly, Joseph is a husband to Dr. Yasmine Gabr-Bias and a #girldad to Isabella and Gabriella. He has two dogs, Lilly and Parker. Joseph enjoys fantasy football, the Chicago Bulls, traveling, and serving as a volunteer Mock Trial attorney coach to his alma mater, Richland Northeast High School. Joseph lives in Lexington, S.C. 

•   South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division “Young Lawyer of the Year” for 2019
• Richland School District Two Black History Month Honoree for Community Contributions to Education in 2022
• South Carolina Bar Leadership Academy Graduate, 2022

  -Leadership Academy Planning Committee, 2023-present

• Jonathan Jasper Wright Award for service from USC School of Law Black Law Students Association, 2021
• “Best and Brightest 35 and Under” from Columbia Business Monthly, 2020
• Elected to SC Bar’s House of Delegates, 2019
• South Carolina Supreme Court’s “Pro Bono Honor Roll” 2019-2024
• The State Newspaper’s (Columbia, SC) “20 Under 40” in 2018
• South Carolina Black Pages “20 Under 40” in 2019
• Selected by peers as one of Columbia’s “Legal Elite” by Columbia Business Monthly Magazine from 2018- 2023
• Profiled by "Wofford Today" in Winter 2024 Issue

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Insurance Defense: 2018, 2019; Education: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

-Leading vote getter from fellow attorneys among Midlands attorneys in Education Law for 2022 and 2023

• South Carolina Lawyer Weekly’s “Leadership in Law” Selection for 2018
• 2017 Law Related Education Lawyer of the Year from the South Carolina Bar 

• South Carolina
• U.S. District Court of South Carolina