James T. Mclaren
McLaren and Lee
James T. McLaren maintains a statewide family law practice emphasizing complex marital litigation in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a partner in the law firm of McLaren & Lee. He has served the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in various capacities since becoming a Fellow, including National President in 2015. He received the AAML Fellow of the Year from the Academy in 2007 and the AAML Professionalism Award in 2020. He serves on various Academy Committees. He has served on the Board of the AAML Foundation, where he currently serves on the Advisory Board. For the South Carolina Chapter of the Academy, he has served as President and National Delegate. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers and currently serves on the Executive Committee. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. He is currently the South Carolina Chapter President for the International Network of Boutique Law Firms. He currently serves on the South Carolina Bar Family Law Council and was appointed to the President’s Task Force on Alimony. Mr. McLaren has been named in the Best Lawyers in America, Family Law Designation, since 1993, received an “AV” designation from Martindale Hubbell since 1996, and has been named in the South Carolina Super Lawyers publication since 2008. He is a contributing author to the South Carolina Equitable Apportionment Act (§20-7-741, et. seq., S.C. Code of Laws) and the South Carolina Alimony Statute (§20-3-130, South Carolina Code of Laws). Mr. McLaren received his undergraduate degree (1973) from the University of South Carolina and Juris Doctorate degree (1976) from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He was admitted to practice in 1976 and has maintained a private practice in Columbia, South Carolina since that time. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, U.S. District Court, South Carolina District, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a frequent speaker on various family law topics for the South Carolina Bar, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, American Bar Association, South Carolina Association for Justice and Mandatory Judicial and Continuing Legal Education Seminars. He has been a faculty member of the ABA/NITA Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute, offered annually in Boulder, Colorado.
