A panel of Clemson alumni will share their insights about becoming an attorney at “Degrees of Success: Launching a Career in Law,” presented by the College of Arts and Humanities. The Degrees of Success series connects successful alumni with current students, giving students real-world role models for transitioning from college to careers.
The panel includes Will Maxey ’11 (B.A. English), a partner at McFarland Law Firm; Michael Hirsch, ’13 (B.A. History), an attorney at CS Law; and Jessica Cooper ’21 (B.A. English), an attorney at Fox Rothschild LLP.
“Degrees in the humanities prepare students for a wide array of careers, and they are an outstanding preparation for the legal profession,” said Nicholas Vazsonyi, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. “Generations of our alumni have been accepted to premier law schools and gone on to highly successful careers as attorneys in South Carolina and beyond. This is why pre-law is one of the College’s four pillars.”
The discussion will be moderated by Judge Gary E. Clary ’70 (B.A. History), Clemson University Jurist in Residence.
The event will be held at the Watt Family Innovation Center Auditorium (Room 108) at 4:30 p.m. on September 21, 2026. Prior to the panel discussion, a meet-and-greet reception with the panelists will be held at 4 p.m.
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About the Speakers
Will Maxey is co-founder and partner at Maxey McFarland Law Firm, a personal injury law firm in Greenville, SC. An Horry County native and lifelong South Carolinian, Maxey graduated from Clemson University with a B.A. in English and earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in law school, he served as the president of the student chapter of the South Carolina Association for Justice, an organization of plaintiff’s attorneys in South Carolina dedicated to defending individuals’ rights to a civil trial by jury and to ensuring fairness in our state’s civil justice system. He remains a proud member of SCAJ and currently serves as a member of its Board of Governors.
Upon graduating law school and being admitted to the South Carolina Bar, Maxey served as an assistant solicitor, where he tried multiple jury trials to verdict and handled cases ranging from driving under the influence to drug trafficking. He then transitioned to private practice, working on behalf of injured people in personal injury cases. During that time, he worked at both large and small personal injury law firms, gaining the knowledge and skill that he brings to his role as partner at Maxey McFarland Law Firm.
Michael Hirsch is an attorney at CS Law, where his practice focuses on civil litigation. His areas of practice include general liability, premises liability, transportation, insurance coverage, and commercial litigation. His practice also includes counseling clients on risk assessment, coverage issues and bad faith matters in both North Carolina and South Carolina.
Hirsch graduated magna cum laude from Clemson with a B.A. in History and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in law school, he clerked for the Office of the Governor and completed his Judicial Observation Experience under the Honorable Jean Hoefer Toal, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. After graduating from law school, Hirsch served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Daniel Dewitt Hall, Circuit Court Judge of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina.
Jessica Cooper is a first-year litigation associate at Fox Rothschild, LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina where she focuses on commercial and municipal litigation. Cooper graduated from Clemson with a B.A. in English and a minor in Biology in 2021. During her time at Clemson, Cooper was active within the William T. Howell Pre-law Society and the Moot Court Creative Inquiry. After Clemson, she attended the University of Georgia School of Law. During law school, she served on the Georgia Law Review, competed on the moot court team, and practiced as a student-attorney in the First Amendment Clinic. She earned her Juris Doctor in 2025.
About the Moderator
Gary E. Clary is a native of Gaffney, SC. Judge Clary earned a B.A. from Clemson University and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law.
Judge Clary’s career as a trial attorney, corporate counsel, circuit judge, mediator, arbitrator, member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and teacher provided him with the opportunity to experience every aspect of the law, courts, and politics. He has served as a Professor of Practice in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice.
In 2025, former President James P. Clements appointed Judge Clary to serve as the Inaugural Jurist in Residence at Clemson University. He has also served as the Chief Judge and Director of the Clemson University Municipal Court.
He is married to Patricia Brumbach Clary, a retired member of University of South Carolina Upstate Mary Black School of Nursing faculty. They reside in Clemson and have two children and four grandchildren.
