The Clemson football team had the NC State game handled by halftime so my wife and friends convinced me that a walk to the Esso on this beautiful afternoon was a good idea. Trying to enjoy the time my wife and I have together with her out of nurse anesthetist school now and no kids, I obliged. The ladies were quick to try and find a restroom not made of plastic and almost full, while the men were expected to work through the crowd at the bar for adult beverages. Having attended Clemson, I was familiar with the Esso and strategic spots to approach for the best leverage and line of sight with the bartender. Not to mention, I could now afford to hold out a $20 bill.

As I approached my honey hole of a spot at the bar another gentleman in front of me turned around. I am about 6’2″ and I had to look up a good many inches to him. He had apparently been there all day for this 3:30pm kick off based on the swaying motion I observed as he double fisted two orange Bud Lights. I was unclear of his intentions as he shouted and pointed at me saying, “I know your face!”. I made some comment that I have a familiar face and he then asked if I was in sales. I said no and continued to try and get the drink order in. Then he said, “What do you do then?”. When I said, “I am a lawyer.” That seemed to help him clear all the clouds in his head and put it together as he shouted, “You’re a *& liar!” Well, alcohol or no alcohol those are usually words that help escalate things and his three friends turned around and I felt my wife push past me in between us and start to divert the conversation.

We were both Clemson fans and I can not stand to see in fighting. I was relatively calm for the situation and simply asked why he would say that. He went on to explain in a round about way that he was a juror member on a recent trial I had in Westminster Magistrate Court in Oconee County where my two clients were liars. My bell went off then and I remembered his disinterested looks, attempts to raise my voice to wake him up during the trial, and total apathy in the whole trial process he was invited to participate in that work day. 

Realizing the gold in this opportunity to talk with a juror after a trial where inhibitions were low and honesty high, if not unfiltered, I asked what he disliked about the trial. He listed several things:

  1. The fact that he had to miss work to be there;
  2. My clients looked like they were liars; and
  3. I was an attorney willing to lie for them but in an educated way.

I tried to get him to be more specific but he could not remember the facts of the case or anything about the case. (It was a motor vehicle collision where the at fault driver pulled out into traffic and then immediately backed up into my clients after realizing he pulled in front of someone else. The insurance company for the at fault driver played hardball and made offers lower than the emergency room bills so we had to try the case). Plus if you have ever been in the Esso during a game, it can be difficult to carry on an indepth conversation. 

As I tried to pull more information out of him to improve my future chances of not being called a liar simply because I am an attorney, he finally softened up a little bit and said: “You know, I will give it to you though. You made me think. When I came in and sat down I immediately knew your clients were lying. (He made this decision prior to any parties being named plaintiff or defendant or hearing any attorney speak). He then said, “After you presented the case with your ‘silver tongue‘, you had me thinkin…but then I just knew your clients were lying.” 

I thanked the man for his feedback and bought him another orange Bud Light to go with the two in his hand. He quickly emptied one to make room for the extra and said I wasn’t that bad after all. He told me not to worry because I still got paid and I quickly put that myth to bed to help him appreciate the generous orange Bud Light he had just received from the contingency fee lawyer that the jury found in favor of the other party. Which in laymen’s terms means that lawyer (me in this case) didn’t get paid or reimbursed for any time and/or costs in the case.

It gave me a fresh outlook at my cases and reminded me;

  1. We all are judged by our covers regardless of what the content may be;
  2. First impressions in trial are hard to shake; and
  3. You can’t win them all (or over) but you can try the best case for your clients and still be called a liar by a drunk at the bar. 
Photo of Trey Mills Trey Mills

Floyd S. “Trey” Mills III knows that suffering a personal injury through no fault of your own can be a nightmare for the victim and his or her family

Mr. Mills was born on April 24, 1978.  His parents, Floyd S. “Butch” Mills,

Floyd S. “Trey” Mills III knows that suffering a personal injury through no fault of your own can be a nightmare for the victim and his or her family

Mr. Mills was born on April 24, 1978.  His parents, Floyd S. “Butch” Mills, Jr. and Patricia Yarborough Mills, were originally from Newberry, South Carolina, and soon after the birth of Mr. Mills, his parents brought him back to be raised in the same county they grew up in.

Education

Mr. Mills attended Newberry Academy from grades K-3, Gallman Elementary 4th grade, Rikard Elementary 5-6th grade, Mid-Carolina Middle School 7-8th grades, Mid-Carolina High School from 9-12th grades, Clemson University, and Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.

Health Crisis

While Mr. Mills was a junior in high school he was chosen by his school to be a representative to Boys State.  This was a great honor and would have been an even better experience except, while at Boys State, Mr. Mills became unusually ill with blackouts, night sweats, and back pain.  Fortunately for Mr. Mills, his mother was an ER nurse at Lexington Medical Center, but unfortunately, for Mr. Mills that did not change his diagnosis of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.  Along with his diagnosis, Mr. Mills received a prognosis of two weeks.

Obviously, Mr. Mills has been blessed with his second chance at life and those who have been wronged by health care insurance companies and other types of insurance companies can feel confident in knowing that Mr. Mills can not only empathize with them but fight fervently for their side.  Mr. Mills’ cancer experience and his mother’s arduous yet unsuccessful battle against lung cancer were very trying times.  However, those real-world battles and experiences were nothing compared to the administrative and billing wars he had to encounter with Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance. It seems BCBS would deny any charge over $1,000 without rational reasoning therefore prompting Mr. Mills to go to law school and carry the torch for those that were too ill to fight for themselves while the school yard bully beat them down.

College

Mr. Mills went on to Clemson University where he was very active in student activities along with academic accomplishments.  Mr. Mills was invited to join Calhoun Honor’s College, Sigma Pi fraternity, Golden Key National Honor Society, Student Government, IPTAY Student Advisory Board, and Tiger Brotherhood. Mr. Mills also worked as a student employee with IPTAY Scholarship Fund under the direction of Bert Henderson, formerly the Associate Athletic Director of Planned Giving at Clemson University.

Early Life

Mr. Mills was unsure of where his hard work and life experiences would best provide an adequate return to the outpouring of kindness he received during his cancer experience. Having received many blessings from the American Red Cross, Mr. Mills went on to be an Apheresis Donor Recruiter under the supervision of Barry Pollard at the American Red Cross Blood Donor Services in Columbia, SC after graduating Clemson University.

Running from his true calling, Mr. Mills fled to Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico to Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).  Having spent a semester of college in Madrid, Spain, Mr. Mills thought he should be assisting foreign countries. Mr. Mills was certified by the Vancouver Language Centre in Guadalajara for his TEFL training.  Mr. Mills was in Guadalajara only a few months when September 11, 2001 occurred and helped him focus on his life priorities.

Law School

Mr. Mills went on to law school at Mercer University and clerked each summer trying to determine how he could best serve those less fortunate.  The corporate law firms never truly provided him with that personal feeling of assisting the common person in need.  It wasn’t until Mr. Mills became the first law clerk of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association under the supervision of Linda Franklin and lobbyist Michael Gunn that he realized where his education, life experience, drive, and hard work could truly benefit those who have been personally and directly affected by the negligence of another.  Mr. Mills wanted to be a coveted and much needed plaintiff’s trial attorney.  More importantly Mr. Mills realized the power of the faceless insurance companies, misinformed legislative members, and the true power of money and lobbyist in dictating laws.

What’s the one service you pay for all your life but you are actually penalized if you ever have to use it? Insurance.

Trammell & Mills

Mr. Ernie Trammell gave Mr. Mills his big break at leveling the playing field against the faceless and heartless insurance companies.  Mr. Mills works tirelessly every day in an effort to bring justice to those who have been wronged.  Mr. Mills has worked on both sides of the law and has been through some harrowing life experiences.  Mr. Mills has been tested and tried by many of the more traumatic events that life has to offer and now provides his services to the public.

Who would you rather have on your side? Someone whose resolve has been tested and tried? Or someone who has intertwined their morality and greed in such a way that they can’t tell one from the other?

Why haven’t you hired Mr. Mills to be your attorney yet?

Would you listen to the devil on how to get to Heaven? Then why listen to insurance adjusters?