Michael Burkett

About Michael

Michael Burkett practices workers’ compensation and personal injury law.  He currently lives in Columbia, SC  with his family, but he grew up in Sumter, SC and continues to maintain strong ties to the Sumter community.   His late father practiced law in Sumter for over 40 years, and his mother and brother are local real estate agents.  Prior to attending law school, he taught Eighth Grade English at Hand Middle School in Columbia, and he is currently the Varsity Girls’ Soccer Coach at Dreher High School.

Michael earned his Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, from The Citadel in 1995 and his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1999. While in law school, he served as Chief Justice of the Moot Court Bar and captain for one of the school’s two American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition teams. He was named a member of the Order of Barristers in 1999, and he received Student Compleat Lawyer Award from the School of Law Alumni Association in 1999. He is the author of the Workers’ Compensation Chapter in the South Carolina Bar publication South Carolina Administrative Law Practice and Procedure. Michael is also a Certified SC Civil Court Mediator.

He was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1999, and he is a member of the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association. He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and all South Carolina State Courts. Michael was also named to U.S. News Best Lawyers for Workers’ Compensation Law in 2018-2022. He holds an AV Preeminent rating from Lexis Nexis Martindale-Hubbell, indicating the highest level of ethical and professional excellence.

Michael worked as an insurance defense attorney for twenty-two years, representing employers and their insurance carriers in workers’ compensation claims.  He is ready to use his knowledge of the insurance industry to serve the needs of workers injured on the job.