Rooted in Lexington and Serving the Community
As a young boy, Murry Kinard, founder and owner of Kinard Law Group, moved to Lexington with his parents. He attended intermediate, middle, and high schools in Lexington. Like many Lexington teens, his first job was right in town, serving ice cream cones at Hite’s Dairy Bar, a beloved local restaurant.
From that early start, Lexington and its people have remained at the heart of everything Kinard does. “Serving the people of this community and trying to do the best job we can are the main objectives,” said Kinard.
The connections with Lexington run deep. “Personally, I’ve always prided myself on being a part of the community,” said Kinard, “when our kids were young, we were involved in their recreational activities and youth groups. I’ve coached youth sports and thoroughly enjoyed it. We’ve been involved at Lexington Baptist Church, where I grew up. I’ve been engaged in the community, personally, my entire career.”
With extensive professional experience in family law, criminal defense, personal injury, and workers’ compensation, the practice endeavors to efficiently and effectively find solutions for each individual client.
According to Kinard, there are two values that set his firm apart: personally connecting with the local community and seeking solutions for those in the community who need help.
After completing high school in Lexington, Kinard graduated from Lander College in Greenwood, South Carolina, where he played basketball, while he majored in political science and served as student body vice president his senior year. Kinard returned to Lexington and the Midlands to enroll at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Once he earned his Juris Doctor degree, he clerked for the Honorable Thomas L. Hughston in Greenwood, South Carolina.
While in Greenwood, Kinard met and later married his wife Amy, a registered nurse, and Kinard’s strong ties with the Lexington community compelled them to relocate to the area. He accepted a position in a local law firm, and within two years, he became a partner in that practice, which was then renamed Walker, Morgan, and Kinard.
“It was the experiences with them,” Kinard said, “working with clients, helping people on a day-to-day basis, and interacting with people on a day-to-day basis that was a big part of what led me to do this type of work.”
Ten years later, Kinard decided to establish his own private law firm. “My wife helped keep the books, we had one person that answered the phones,” he recalled, “and we had four rooms in the little building we were in.” Kinard continued to practice law in the firm he established in Lexington for two more decades, while growing through the addition of attorneys and honing his expertise in domestic, civil, and criminal litigation.
In 2023, he decided to found the present-day practice: Kinard Law Group. With four lawyers on staff, “We are a firm that does a lot of family court work and personal injury work and other things,” Kinard said, “but we’re a firm that prides ourselves on listening to clients, hearing the concerns of clients, and then trying to address those concerns in the most efficient way.”
Additionally, Kinard serves as a mediator in litigation cases – custody disputes, divorce proceedings, etc. In reference to this, he said, “I think what motivates me is that I like to think I am a problem solver. I like to think that, if I can understand the issues and understand the concerns, that I can help to get a solution.”
“Sometimes in order to get that solution, we have to try cases,” he continued. “We have to have somebody else decide them, but oftentimes, if we can understand the issues and the personalities and other things, we can get cases resolved. One of the reasons I enjoy mediating cases is because we help get problems solved. These are people’s lives that we’re talking about, obviously, and this impacts various areas of their lives and their children’s lives.”
A particular case Kinard recalled having to litigate was a lawsuit involving injured children who were removed from the care of their parents. The Department of Social Services resisted placing the children into the care of Kinard’s clients who were family members of the children. To legally allow for this change, due process had to occur. The ordeal lasted for several years, and the children were eventually removed from foster care and placed with the caring family members. This family continues to come visit Kinard, and he is pleased to see that the children are growing and thriving in a safe, loving environment.
One satisfied client describes the Kinard Law Group as a “very professional law firm. I was very impressed at the outcome of our first hearing, which set the pace for the rest of the case. This firm does a lot of mediations, too, which, in my opinion, allows the firm to be better prepared to settle the case fairly, avoiding more legal fees. I would recommend this firm to anyone having a family court matter.”
The Kinard Law Group is located in the landmark building of the former Cinnamon Hill Restaurant, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kinard recalls visiting friends there during his teen years and enjoying their renowned cuisine as an adult.
Kinard looks ahead with optimism and a strong sense of purpose. “I think our future is to continue to serve this community,” he said. A dedicated husband and father of three, with son Harrison and daughters Bryce and Ellie, he looks forward to the day when his oldest son, who is an attorney working for a South Carolina Circuit Court Judge, can join him as an attorney in the firm. “It’ll be something that will be here, and hopefully, something that he will do for another generation.”
Kinard Law Group
808 South Lake Drive
Lexington, SC
803-359-1003