William H. Kleindienst is an attorney in the Charleston office of GRSM. He represents businesses in environmental & toxic tort, product liability, real estate, and commercial litigation. William advises clients in a wide variety of claims involving environmental legal matters. He has experience defending clients and expert witnesses in both state and federal court.

William advises real estate clients on industrial and commercial real estate transactions that have environmental contaminants, asbestos, and other environmental concerns (including Brownfields, Landfills, and CERCLA) and with the remediation surrounding these properties. He also works in the Business Transaction practice group advising clients on real estate, M&A, employment, risk, and all facets of corporate compliance.

Litigation 

  • Tried asbestos claims litigation in South Carolina
  • Successfully argued motion to dismiss for insurance carrier in Fairfield County, South Carolina
  • Successfully argued motion for summary judgment for creditor in Anderson County, South Carolina
  • Obtained defense verdict in bench trial for nursing home client in Richland County, South Carolina
  • Obtained summary judgment for engineering firm in Charleston County, South Carolina
  • Successfully argued motion to dismiss for design professional in Horry County, South Carolina

Real Estate & Environmental

  • Real estate & environmental counsel for several municipalities in South Carolina  
  • Real Estate & environmental counsel for redevelopment project on the Charleston, South Carolina peninsula
  • Environmental counsel for multi-million dollar economic development projects throughout North Charleston, South Carolina 
  • Real estate & environmental counsel for economic development project in Berkeley County, South Carolina
     

  • “Social Media in the Workplace,” Palmetto Society of Human Resource Management (2016)

Admissions

  • South Carolina
  • United States District Court for the District of South Carolina

Memberships

  • The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association
  • The Urban Land Institute, South Carolina
  • South Carolina Municipal Attorneys Association
  • The American Bar Association

Community Involvement

  • Charleston County Board of Assessment Appeals, Chair, 2014-present
  • Palmetto Community Care, Pro Bono Attorney, 2014-present
  • S.C. Equality Litigation Task Force, Pro Bono Attorney, 2015-present
  • Palmetto Society of Human Resource Management, General Counsel, 2016-2018
  • North Charleston Housing Authority, Vice-Chair, 2018-2022

Education

  • J.D., New York Law School , 2013
  • Dual B.A., Political Science & Psychology & Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 2009
  • Studied at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain in 2008

Languages

  • Spanish