Charleston School of Law welcomes you to The Journey, an exclusive series that celebrates the remarkable achievements of the 2026 graduating class. This series highlights our students’ unique path to law school, the challenges they’ve overcome, the experiences that shaped them, and the impact they hope to make in the legal profession and their communities.
From balancing family and careers to leading student organizations, serving the community, and excelling in the classroom, these stories showcase the resilience, dedication, and purpose that define the Charleston Law experience.
The Journey also honors academic accomplishments, reflects the school’s commitment to developing ethical, practice-ready attorneys prepared to serve with integrity and compassion, and provides a glimpse of the meaningful contributions they are poised to make in South Carolina and beyond.
We hope you will join us on The Journey. We are confident you will be inspired.
Trey Thacker never lived in Pikeville, Kentucky, the homey coal-mining town (population 7,500), but that’s where his law school journey took shape.
“My mom’s dad is the oldest of 12 siblings, and he grew up in Pikeville,” said Thacker. “He dropped out of school in the seventh grade to help support his family.”
Enter: Ray Brown, or as Trey affectionately calls him, “papaw.” After dropping out of school, Brown worked in the coal mines of Kentucky. The eldest of the family tree worked long and hard. In fact, he worked his entire life as a coal miner to support his family.
“He is the reason I wanted to go to law school,” said Thacker. “Being a first-generation college student, I had no idea what to study. I was doing all this research when I found an LSAT study guide, but it was super expensive. My grandparents gave me the money to go through the LSAT process, and it helped my score tremendously.”
In six weeks, Trey will cross the Commencement stage and become the first person in his family to earn both an undergraduate and Juris Doctor degree from Charleston School of Law. His grandparents, Ray and Betty Brown, will be in attendance.
It would be an understatement to say the moment will be emotional.
Thacker, a Summerville native, grew up playing baseball. He played three seasons at Florence Darlington, a junior college in Florence, South Carolina. “I had Tommy John surgery on my elbow, and that derailed everything,” he said.
Thacker needed to pivot — quickly. So, he transferred to the University of South Carolina in his senior year of college and began exploring career options that would allow him to apply the skills he had learned in athletics in the professional world. “I was searching for something,” said Thacker. “After baseball, I was confused. I lost all my confidence. I was trying to find a profession that would fit. “
While visiting his grandparents in Kentucky during Winter Break, Thacker connected with a family friend who is also a plaintiff trial attorney.
“I watched him argue a motion to compel in a courtroom,” he said. “After that, I just fell in love with the practice of law. I was like, this is perfect. I’m super competitive. It seemed so natural to me, from someone who grew up in athletics, it’s in your DNA, that competitive nature.”
After his experience in Kentucky, Trey wanted to learn more about the legal profession.
“I reached out to so many attorneys in the community before I chose where to go,” said Thacker. “I would call and email people, asking them questions. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I asked as many people as possible for their opinions beforehand. Charleston Law was a perfect fit.”
In the Fall of 2023, Thacker arrived at Charleston School of Law. The feeling was strange, he noted. “That was the first time in my life that I wasn’t playing sports,” said Thacker. “I didn’t have games or practice. I didn’t have 6 am lifts. So, I used all this extra time and energy I had and poured it into academics.”
His competitive nature kicked in, and he began setting new goals: Win a CALI Award. Earn excellent grades and rank among the top in his class.
He took a law clerk position at Finkel Law Firm before starting law school. Thacker wanted to be in the law practice environment before he made his decision.
Despite his strong academic track record, competitive spirit, and law clerk experience, Thacker realized early that the struggle of life as a law student was real.
“I remember until our midterms, I had imposter syndrome,” said Thacker. “The whole time, you think you’re doing the right things, but you have no idea until you get that first feedback on your midterm grades.”
In hindsight, Thacker credited the Charleston Law faculty for advice and encouragement.
“Professor [William] Janssen and I have become extremely close,” explained Thacker. “Anytime I had a question in Civil Procedure, I went to him, and he explained it – a lot of these concepts are so complicated; having it said one way can really click in your mind. That’s been my experience with every single professor so far. The faculty went out of their way to make sure that you are prepared.”
Thacker got off to a fast start in his 2L year when he accepted an externship at Yarborough Applegate, a trial-attorney plaintiff firm in Charleston. That’s when his passion began to snowball.
“Law school gave me my confidence back,” he said.
Thacker began developing his confidence through the advocacy programs at Charleston Law. The programs provide students with opportunities to compete against top-ranked law schools nationwide and gain hands-on experience.
“I have competed, and every time I felt I was getting a little bit better, a little more comfortable in the courtroom. When it comes to my confidence, public speaking skills, or thinking on my feet, it has helped me tremendously. I didn’t want to be an attorney whose first courtroom experience was in real life. Someone’s life is in my hands. Charleston Law does a good job of preparing law students for when the action becomes real life, with an actual client and a real judge, and the real outcomes happen.” – Trey Thacker
“Law school classes do a great job of teaching actual law; when it comes to applying those skills, the best practice is hands-on experience,” said Thacker, who was a member of the Trial Advocacy team.
During his 2L and 3L years, Thacker devoted all his time to activities that would prepare him to be the best attorney he could be.
“I had the mindset that I needed to work during law school and learn as much as I could,” he said.
After his 1L year, Thacker worked at Wilson, Jones, Carter Baxley, a civil litigation defense firm. After 2L year, Thacker joined Butler | Snow, a defense law firm.
“My experience at Butler | Snow has been one of the most rewarding of my career,” said Thacker. “The firm is widely regarded as a leader in defense work, and from my very first day, it felt like home. I’ve always believed that becoming the best attorney I can be requires learning from and working alongside the best, and Butler | Snow provides exactly that environment. From the moment I walked into the office, I knew it was where I wanted to build my career and continue growing as an attorney.”
In the second half of my 2L summer, he worked at Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney.
Recruited as a shortstop, Thacker also played third base, outfield, and pitched. He described how life in baseball is not much different than a career in law.
“I have a lot of the same feelings when I’m doing mock trial competition that I had on the baseball field,” said Thacker. “Having that background has helped me out so much when it comes to law school. When I’m in the courtroom, it feels the same as if I’m pitching in a ninth-inning tie game. I didn’t know it at the time, but baseball was preparing me for what I was about to do.”
“You spend that whole time, training, researching, and preparing for the game,” he said. “It’s the exact same thing when it comes to a trial. We spent months prepping for a mock trial competition, and then you finally get there, and at that point, you just leave it all out there. I thought it was the perfect use of all those skills I’ve learned from playing sports.”
Game on.
Editor’s note: Thacker has accepted a full-time associate position at Butler | Snow in the firm’s civil litigation practice group (pending his bar exam results).
