Meet Clay

Clay Walker chairs Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Automotive Sales & Service Industry Team and has more than 20 years of experience representing automotive dealers in matters involving Dealers Act defense claims, mergers & acquisitions, employment, consumer complaints and personal injury. He also advises dealers on risk management issues and reviews and audits existing documents for compliance with regulations and procedures.

A successful litigator Clay also represents clients in products liability, employment, real estate and personal injury litigation. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of commercial disputes, including breach of contract, interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, insurance coverage, shareholder disputes and defamation.

EXPERIENCE

• •  Obtained a defense verdict in a bellwether class action consumer protection claim involving more than 150 automotive dealers
• •  Obtained a multi-million dollar verdict for a global art gallery in a breach of warranty claim
• •  Successfully represented a state agency in a $36 million dollar procurement trial

• Vanderbilt University, J.D., 1981
• Duke University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1978

• South Carolina, 1981
• U.S. District Court, South Carolina, 1984
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1989
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1992

• The Best Lawyers in America© Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (2020-2025)
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Rating

• Uniform Law Commission (2012-Present), Highly Automated Vehicle Act Committee Vice Chair, Drafting Committee on Covenants Not to Compete Vice Chair, Choice of Law Study Committee, Event Data Recorders in Cars Study Committee, Uniform Voidable Transactions Act Drafting and Enactment Committees, Recurring Service Charges Drafting Committee, Military Spouse Occupational Licensing Study Committee
• National Association of Dealer Counsel
• Leadership Columbia
• Trenholm Road United Methodist Church, former Council on Ministries Board Member
• Northside United Methodist Church, former Council of Ministries and Administrative Board Member

• “Arbitration Agreements, Closing Fees, Shop Fees, and Recent S.C. Court Cases,” SCADA Best Practices Summit, October 9, 2024
• Co-author of “Manufacturing Personal Protective Equipment: What Manufacturers Need to Know to Make PPE and Reduce Products Liability Risks,” SC Chamber’s Business in the Era of COVID-19: A Guide for Moving Your Business Forward, May 20, 2020