COLUMBIA, S.C. — Well-known South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was suspended from practicing law by the S.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Murdaugh, 53, was given an interim suspension, according to an order issued by the high court.
The order said that Murdaugh had consented "to the issuance of an order of interim suspension in this matter."
The order said Murdaugh was suspended under Rule 17(b) of the SC Appellate Court rules, which says:
"Upon receipt of sufficient evidence demonstrating that a lawyer poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or to the administration of justice, the Supreme Court may place the lawyer on interim suspension pending a final determination in any proceeding under these rules."
Murdaugh is under investigation by his Hampton law firm for misappropriating money, the firm said Monday.
For years, Murdaugh has been a highly respected member of the S.C. Bar, which has some 12,000 lawyer-members. He served 13 years on the governing body of the state's Trial Lawyers Association and the group's president from 2006-2007. Murdaugh was also president in 2016 of the group, which renamed itself and became the S.C. Association for Justice.
On Monday night, Murdaugh's longtime law firm — Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick — made a public announcement that he had resigned from the firm and "is no longer associated with PMPED in any manner."
The firm said, "His resignation came after the discovery by PMPED that Alex misappropriated funds in violation of PMPED standards and policies."
The firm also said it had notified law enforcement and the S.C. Bar.
