McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

What McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC does

McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC is a South Carolina-based plaintiff-side law firm founded in 2003 that specializes in high-stakes personal injury, medical malpractice, mass tort, and class action litigation. The firm operates five offices across the state (Rock Hill, Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Greenville) and is staffed by nearly 20 attorneys led by four founding partners (Chad McGowan, S. Randall Hood, Johnny Felder, Robert V. Phillips). Its core practice spans serious personal injury, medical malpractice, truck and car accidents, nursing home abuse, sexual abuse, construction accidents, wrongful death, product liability, civil rights, class actions, mass torts, and business litigation. The firm differentiates itself through a trial-ready posture, preparing every case for litigation rather than early settlement to maximize leverage against insurance carriers and corporate defendants.

The business model is contingency fee-based: clients pay nothing upfront and the firm is compensated only on a successful recovery, typically 25-40% of the award. Revenue therefore tracks gross case recoveries rather than billable hours, with documented client outcomes including a $489M antitrust class action settlement, a $122M securities fraud class action settlement, an $88M Charleston Nine civil rights settlement, and multiple medical malpractice verdicts exceeding $10M. The firm generates cases through direct consumer outreach (free case evaluations, website, phone intake, social media), hospital and home visits, and a national attorney referral network connecting the firm with out-of-state counsel on mass tort and class action matters. Multiple partners hold leadership roles in the South Carolina Association for Justice and ABOTA, and the firm has hired lateral partners from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough and defense-side practices to deepen its complex litigation bench.

The firm has no proprietary technology platform; legal services are delivered through traditional attorney-led representation. It is privately held by its partners with no institutional investors, no funding rounds, and no disclosed revenue. Growth has been entirely organic, funded from operating cash flow, with steady headcount expansion from four founders to nearly 20 attorneys and geographic buildout across South Carolina over two decades.

Name

McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC

Legal name

McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC

Website

https://mcgowanhood.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips is a South Carolina plaintiff-side law firm with five offices and nearly 20 attorneys specializing in personal injury, medical malpractice, mass torts, and class actions on a contingency fee basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Rock Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services - Contingency Fee: The firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay nothing unless the firm wins their case. This aligns firm interests with client outcomes.
2. Attorney Referrals: Accepting referrals from other law firms for complex cases involving class actions, mass torts, personal injury, and medical malpractice.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC is a South Carolina personal injury and medical malpractice law firm that provides trial-ready legal representation to individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, or medical negligence. The firm operates on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay nothing unless the firm wins their case. Core practice areas include serious personal injury, medical malpractice, truck and car accidents, class actions and mass torts, nursing home abuse, sexual abuse, construction accidents, wrongful death, product liability, and civil rights cases.

Product overview

McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC is a South Carolina personal injury law firm offering comprehensive legal services across multiple practice areas. The firm operates as a unified legal services offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Its core practice areas include personal injury, medical malpractice, truck/car accidents, class actions and mass torts, nursing home abuse, sexual abuse, construction accidents, wrongful death, product liability, civil rights, and business litigation. The firm also maintains an Attorney Referral Network for cases outside South Carolina. The firm was founded in 2003 and has grown to nearly 20 attorneys with offices across South Carolina (Rock Hill, Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Myrtle Beach).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Injury Legal Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Only attorney in South Carolina history with 3 jury verdicts in medical malpractice cases over $10 Million
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Referral Community (Law Firms)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilding relationships with law firms outside of South Carolina through a national referral community. Attorneys have been recognized throughout South Carolina and the nation as leaders in mass tort litigation. Firms work together on cases involving serious acts of negligence against individuals or groups of plaintiffs.
• Other Law Firms in Class ActionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeveral other firms were involved in the $489 Million Antitrust Class Action Settlement. McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips was class counsel in this matter.
• Other Law Firms in Securities Fraud SettlementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne other firm was involved in the $122 Million Securities Fraud Class Action Settlement. McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips was lead counsel.
• Steve Welch (Attorney)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-counsel relationship with Steve Welch on various cases including medical malpractice verdicts.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Morgan & Morgan: Largest plaintiff personal injury firm in the United States with offices across multiple states. Comparable as both a direct competitor for PI cases and a benchmark for the national plaintiff firm model. Their scale and marketing spend directly affect regional PI firms like McGowan Hood.
• The Barnes Firm (formerly Cellino & Barnes): National personal injury firm with strong brand recognition and heavy advertising presence. Comparable as a scaled PI competitor and represents the kind of national consolidation pressure McGowan Hood faces in regional markets.

Direct peers

• Steinberg Law Firm: South Carolina-based personal injury and workers' compensation firm with multiple offices across the state. Direct competitor for PI, med mal, and auto accident cases within McGowan Hood's core geography, with similar regional firm scale.
• Joye Law Firm: South Carolina personal injury law firm with offices in multiple SC cities. Directly competes with McGowan Hood for plaintiff PI, truck accident, and wrongful death cases in the same statewide market.
• Louthian Law Firm: South Carolina-based plaintiff personal injury firm focused on auto accidents, wrongful death, and med mal. Competes for similar cases in the SC Midlands and surrounding areas.
• Ross Feller Casey: Boutique plaintiff firm specializing in medical malpractice, mass tort, and class action litigation. Comparable in size and focus on catastrophic injury and complex med mal, with similar contingency-fee economics on high-value cases.
• Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein: National plaintiff firm with premier class action and mass tort practice. Comparable for the class action/mass tort segment of McGowan Hood's practice, particularly in pharmaceutical, securities, and antitrust class actions.
• Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann: Leading national plaintiffs' securities fraud and class action firm. Directly comparable for the securities class action work McGowan Hood has handled (notably the $122M settlement), though at a larger scale.
• Gordon & Doner: Multi-state plaintiff personal injury firm with significant med mal and PI practice. Comparable business model and case mix, though operating in different states - useful as a same-model reference point.
• The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin: Mid-sized plaintiff firm with multiple offices in the Carolinas focusing on PI, workers' comp, and med mal. Comparable in scale, geographic proximity (NC/SC overlap), and contingency-fee plaintiff practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mcgowanhoodlaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/227471900764760
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mcgowan-hood-and-felder-llc
• Instagraminstagram.com/explore/locations/1028690468/mcgowan-hood-felder-phillips-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McGowan, Hood & Felder, LLC