Callison Tighe mourns the passing of colleague D. Reece Williams III
February 5, 2026
Callison Tighe & Robinson is mourning the loss of longtime colleague Reece Williams III, who passed away on January 18 at the age of 88.
“One of the pleasures of my professional life was the honor of practicing law with Reece Williams,” said Callison Tighe Managing Member Rick Detwiler. “He was always so kind and generous with his time and wisdom. He was a legend. So many things in one man. And what a storyteller. I don’t think I ever left his office without a laugh and a smile on my face. He loved practicing law and was genuinely devoted to the profession and improving how lawyers treat each other. It is difficult to describe how much he meant to the firm, and how much he will be missed.”
It may seem there has been a D. Reece Williams serving as an attorney in South Carolina forever. But really, it just goes back to the generation after the Civil War. The first Reece Williams was the son of a veteran who came home to the cotton-mill town of Lancaster and became a judge.
The latest attorney of that name was just preparing to retire when he passed away, capping a long and distinguished career.
D. Reece Williams III focused his practice at Callison Tighe on his main professional strength, trial advocacy. He was deeply experienced in areas including personal injury, professional liability, commercial and government litigation. He tried numerous cases resulting in verdicts in excess of a million dollars. He was also a certified mediator and arbitrator.
After growing up in Lancaster, he received a degree in English from the University of North Carolina before earning his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
He was always going to be a litigator. “I used to spend a lot of time at my daddy’s law office and at the courthouse when I got out of school, waiting for somebody to take me home,” he remembered. “I really enjoyed it. I loved it. I had this vision about what it meant to be a lawyer, and that meant being in the courtroom.”
His reputation in the courtroom extends beyond South Carolina, as attorneys across the country have sought his counsel. But he took no credit for what he called this undeserved distinction. “Being able to try a lawsuit is like being able to sing. It’s a natural ability.” But whatever you call it, he always loved it.
Mr. Williams said successful trial advocacy requires certain special qualities in an attorney. “You have to be a little bit nuts,” he said. After all, it involves performing in public, which calls for different skills and temperament “whether you’re singing or dancing or trying a lawsuit.”
He was not only a member of the invitation-only American Board of Trial Advocates, he served as its National President in 2000. He was also a member of the American Judicature Society and the International Society of Barristers, and was president of the Richland County Bar Association in 2002. His interests and community involvement extended beyond the bounds of the practice of law.
In 2016, he and his wife, Nancy, presented a valuable gift to the Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina. It was the couple’s William Faulkner collection, including first editions of all 20 novels, plus an eclectic assortment of other rare books by and about the legendary Mississippian. The following year, the Williamses were named honorary life members of the Thomas Cooper Society – not only as acknowledgement of the Faulkner gift, but for their many years of dedicated support of the University Libraries, the Irvin Department, the Thomas Cooper Society, and the Ex Libris Society.
About Callison Tighe & Robinson, LLC
The attorneys of Callison Tighe & Robinson, LLC practice in the following areas, including trials and appeals in all state and federal courts in South Carolina: Alternative Dispute Resolution; Appellate Practice; Banking and Commercial Finance; Business Organizations; Complex Criminal Defense; Court-Martial Defense; Commercial Real Estate; Regulatory Law; Government Law; Tax; Probate, Trusts, and Estates; Personal Injury Litigation; Title Insurance Litigation; and Workers’ Compensation.
For more information, visit callisontighe.com.
