Joe Rice died suddenly at his office on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at age 72. Joseph F. Rice’s death closed the life of a South Carolina lawyer whose name was attached to the University of South Carolina law school after a $30 million gift from him and his family.
He had practiced law since 1979 and was a founder of Motley Rice, the Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based firm that made him one of the state’s most recognizable plaintiffs’ lawyers. His family’s gift led the University of South Carolina to rename its law school the Joseph F. Rice School of Law in November 2023.
Joseph F. Rice School of Law
Rice’s connection to the school went beyond the naming gift. Rice and members of his firm created the Ronald L. Motley Memorial Scholarship Fund and Civil Litigation Training Program Fund at the law school, tying his professional work to training and scholarships there.
At the time of the renaming, Rice said, "My alma mater is a huge part of my family’s history and success," and added, "It gives me great pride to directly impact the lives of its students." He also said, "My hope is that this worthy cause will inspire and bring out the best in generations of future lawyers, while laying the foundation they’ll need to achieve great things."
South Carolina legal Hall of Fame
Rice was one of the inaugural inductees in South Carolina’s legal Hall of Fame in 2018, another marker of his standing in the state’s legal community. Pete Strom summed up that reputation with a short remark: "We lost the Lion King."
Rice also told Jordan Kaye of The State, "I don’t live a complicated life," and then added, "Professionally I do, but not personally." Those lines fit the public record of a lawyer whose work reached well beyond his office and into the state’s flagship law school.
The cause of his sudden death was not disclosed. What is certain is that the death ends a long legal career and leaves the Joseph F. Rice School of Law carrying his name without the man who gave it there.
