About M. Brooks
M. Brooks Derrick has a background that moves from chemistry bench work to courtroom argument. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from Gardner-Webb University in 1998, followed by an M.S. in biomedical engineering from Clemson University in 2001. He completed his J.D. at Charleston School of Law in 2007. Those years map a steady progression from laboratory science into law.
He began his legal career at Nexsen Pruet in 2007, joining as an associate. That early experience placed him in a firm setting where he handled matters that required attention to both legal detail and technical fact. A year later he opened his own practice, forming the Law Offices of M. Brooks Derrick, LLC, where he serves as the managing member. The move to a solo firm gave him responsibility for client intake, case strategy and the business side of running a practice.
Derrick is admitted to practice in South Carolina and holds admissions in several federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit and the D.C. Circuit. He is also a Supreme Court of South Carolina certified mediator through the South Carolina State Bar. Those credentials reflect work across trial and appellate levels and a recognized role in alternative dispute resolution.
His earlier scientific training shows through in how he approaches cases. He reads technical reports and medical literature closely. He asks pointed questions in deposition and at mediation. Colleagues describe his method as analytical and precise. He applies that approach to matters that present technical or scientific complexity and to appellate briefs that require tight legal argument.
In practice he has balanced courtroom work with mediation. Admitting cases to appellate courts means he has handled appeals and preserved issues through trial courts. Serving as a certified mediator has also put him on the other side of the table, helping parties resolve disputes outside a verdict-driven setting. The combination of trial, appellate and mediation experience shapes the services his office provides.
He maintains his firm in South Carolina and manages the day-to-day and strategic direction of his practice. He currently concentrates his practice on civil litigation, appellate representation and mediation.
