Thomas Pope
Senior Counsel
- 36 yrs experience
- Bar admitted 1988
- Charlotte, NC
- South Carolina1988
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
- B.S. in Business Management
- University of South Carolina School of Law1987
- Undergraduate
- University of South Carolina1984
- 01Platinum Compleat Lawyer Award (2026)
- 02Super Lawyers (2013-2024)
- 03National Trial Lawyers Top 100 (2022-2024)
- 04Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating
- 05South Carolina Order of the Palmetto (2008)
- 06South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award (2014)
- 07South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Business Advocate Award (6x recipient)
- 08Legislative Champion Award, South Carolina Sheriffs (2022)
- 09Rock Hill Jaycees Outstanding Young American (1995)
- York County Bar Association
- South Carolina Association for Justice
- SCAJ House of Delegates, Board of Governors
- South Carolina Solicitors Association (Past President)
- South Carolina Commission on Prosecution Coordination (Past Chairman)
- Judicial Qualification Commission (Past Chairman)
Background
Thomas "Tommy" E. Pope, Esq. is Senior Counsel at Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys in Rock Hill, South Carolina, with more than 30 years of litigation experience. He also currently serves as the Speaker Pro Tempore of the South Carolina House of Representatives. A proud Rock Hill High School graduate, Pope was elected Solicitor (District Attorney) for the 16th Circuit (Union and York Counties, SC) in 1993. He is most often recognized for his 1995 prosecution of Susan Smith in Union County, which made national headlines for the drowning deaths of her two children. Pope retired as Solicitor in 2006, began his own law firm, and joined the Elrod Law Firm in 2008 to form Elrod Pope Accident & Injury Attorneys. Pope is the 2026 Platinum Recipient of the Compleat Lawyer Award and has been named a Super Lawyer (2013-2024) and to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 (2022-2024). He holds the Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Rating, was awarded the South Carolina Order of the Palmetto in 2008, the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award in 2014, and is a six-time recipient of the Business Advocate Award from the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the York County Bar Association, the South Carolina Association for Justice, the SCAJ House of Delegates Board of Governors, the South Carolina Solicitors Association (Past President), the South Carolina Commission on Prosecution Coordination (Past Chairman), and the Judicial Qualification Commission (Past Chairman). He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1987 and his Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of South Carolina in 1984. He was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1988 and is also admitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Notable cases
- 1995
Prosecution of Susan Smith in Union County, SC — national-headline case involving drowning deaths of her two children
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