Meet Nick

Nick Nicholson combines his responsibilities as Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Managing Director with his work in the areas of procurement and government contracts, construction law, governance issues and local government law.

Nick advises governmental and private entities on procurement-related issues, including:

• •  Representing clients in protests, lawsuits and alternative dispute resolution methods
• •  Leading investigations into purchasing and other practices of local government
• •  Providing counsel and training concerning procurement policies and ordinances
• •  Preparing bids, requests for proposals, requests for qualifications and other solicitation documents
• •  Drafting, reviewing and negotiating contract documents
• •  Advising on contract awards

Nick also counsels local governments, institutions of higher learning and governmental agencies with respect to Freedom of Information Act issues, construction and general contract matters, constitutional issues, governance issues, construction bonding issues and general liability matters. He has represented public bodies in more than 75 lawsuits that have variously involved constitutional claims, challenges to the award of contracts, construction claims, condemnation claims, tort claims and property tax protests.

He advises owners and contractors on contractual issues and represents them in construction-related actions in state court, mediation and arbitration in cases involving issues arising out of changes in the scope of work, delays, scheduling and construction and design defects.

EXPERIENCE

• •  Argued multiple appeals before the SC Supreme Court and Court of Appeals concerning procurement ordinances and procurement activities
• •  Represented public and private entities in multiple bid protests and contract controversies before the SC Chief Procurement Officer and appeals concerning same before the SC Procurement Review Panel
• •  Negotiated Design-Build and CM at-Risk contracts collectively totaling over $1 billion for a wide array of projects, including biomass boiler, water treatment plants, roads, multi-phase public/private development projects, hospitals, medical office buildings, multi-family housing and manufacturing facilities
• •  Negotiated the settlement in pre-suit mediation of a variety of disputes involving large construction projects

Nick is a frequent speaker on procurement law, FOIA and construction matters and has presented at SC Bar annual meetings, SC Construction Bar seminars, SC Government Law Bar seminars, Association of Counties meetings and other events.

• University of South Carolina, J.D., 1992
• University of South Carolina, B.A., magna cum laude, 1988

• South Carolina, 1992
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1993
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1996

• The Best Lawyers in America© Construction Law (2021-2025) and Litigation - Construction (2013-2025)
• Best Lawyers® 2022 Construction Law “Lawyer of the Year” Greenville
• Best Lawyers® 2020 Litigation - Construction “Lawyer of the Year” Greenville
• Greenville Business Magazine “Legal Elite of the Upstate” Construction Law (2020-2024) and Government Relations Law (2020-2021)
• Greenville Business Magazine “50 Most Influential” (2019, 2021, 2022)
• University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Council 2019 “Compleat Lawyer” 
• South Carolina Lawyers Weekly 2016 Leadership in Law Award 

• Meyer Center for Special Children, former Board Member
• Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, former Board Member
• South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, former Board Member
• Leadership South Carolina, Class of 2015
• American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry and Local Government Section
• South Carolina Bar, former Construction Law Section President
• Greenville County Bar Association
• Leadership Greenville, Class XXXVIII

• “FAQs of FOIA,” SC Public Charter School District Board Meeting, Columbia, SC, October 12, 2023
• “Key Legal Areas for Family Businesses” (Moderator), Anderson University’s Family Enterprise Institute, October 20, 2022
• “FAQs of FOIA,” Kids First Conference, Columbia, SC, September 28, 2022
• “Virtual Meetings – The New Normal?,” SC Economic Developers’ Association Webinar, May 7, 2020
• Freedom of Information Act Training, Meyer Center for Special Children, Greenville, SC, January 30, 2019
• “Earth, Wind and FOIA,” Public Charter School Alliance of SC Annual Conference, Columbia, SC, November 20, 2019
• "Records, Retention and Real World Document Solutions (Complying with FOIA and Records Retention Rules in 2018)" (Panelist), South Carolina Municipal Attorneys Association Annual Meeting, Columbia, SC, December 7, 2018
• Freedom of Information Act Training, University of South Carolina Foundations, Columbia, SC, March 26, 2018
• "Construction Contracts & Procurement Issues for Local Governments," South Carolina Bar Government Law Update, Columbia, SC, June 16, 2017
• South Carolina Construction Law Desk Book, Procurement Chapter, Contributing Author, 2013