Attorney Profiles


Gedney M. Howe, III

Mr. Howe, a native of Charleston, earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina and began practicing with his father, Gedney M. Howe, Jr., in 1973.

His focus is on representing plaintiffs in personal injury and criminal defense litigation. Mr. Howe enjoys winning complex cases by creatively applying the law and outworking his opponents.

Mr. Howe is AV Preeminent* peer-review rated through Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review rating an attorney can attain for legal practice and ethics. He has been a member of the Best Lawyers in America, the International Society of Barristers, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and National College of Criminal Defense Attorneys. He was ranked as the No. 1 attorney in South Carolina Super Lawyers Magazine for both the 2011 and 2012 editions. In 2012 Mr. Howe was honored by the American Bar Association with the Pursuit of Justice Award, in recognition of his outstanding merit and his efforts to provide access to justice for all.

“My clients don’t want a fair shake. They want to win. We don’t have files that sit. Our job is to initiate the next move, to always be moving the case forward. We’re making every single effort to win from the beginning.”
– Gedney M. Howe III

Alvin J. Hammer

Mr. Hammer is a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts and the University of South Carolina School of Law with a Juris Doctor. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he began practicing in 1973 with his father, the late Henry Hammer, who handled many appeals in state and federal courts.

In 1984, Mr. Hammer moved to Charleston to join the Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe, III, P.A. He has extensive experience in state and federal civil litigation and appeals and is extremely familiar with the application of Federal Rules.

Mr. Hammer is a member of the American Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association and the Charleston County Bar, on which he has served on the Grievance Committee. He is AV Preeminent peer-review rated* through Martindale-Hubbell.

Gedney M. Howe, IV

As a third-generation attorney with enthusiasm for representing victims in personal injury claims, Gedney M. Howe IV looks forward to carrying out his grandfather and father’s philosophy of “doing justice and healing the minds of his clients.”

He is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the ABA Young Lawyers Division, the South Carolina Association for Justice, and the American Association for Justice.

Gedney earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2020 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Winthrop University in 2017.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories — legal ability and general ethical standards.

Michael A. Monastra

Michael A. Monastra joined the Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe, III, P.A. after serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Roger M. Young,Sr., Circuit Court Judge for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. During law school, Michael was an active Moot Court Board Member, competing in the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition, and was selected as a student member of the James L. Petigru Inn of Court.

In addition to those activities, Michael worked at the Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe, III, P.A. Before law school, Michael worked as a paralegal for a lien resolution firm in the subrogation industry, resolving Medicare, Medicaid and Private health care liens in Mass Tort and Class Action personal injury matters. Michael received a B.S. in Business Management from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 2010 and moved to Charleston in 2016. Next, Michael earned a J.D. from the Charleston School of Law.

Contact The Firm Now

If you or a loved one has suffered catastrophic injuries, please contact the firm’s office in Charleston to schedule a free consultation. The Law Offices of Gedney M. Howe, III, P.A., represents severe and catastrophic injury cases requiring complex litigation. You may send the firm an email through this secure website or call 843-722-8048.