Background

 Clarke Newton is a personal injury attorney at Bluestein Attorneys in Columbia, South Carolina, where he has represented injured individuals and families across the state since 2013. He teaches trial advocacy at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law — the same institution where he earned his J.D. in 2009.

Before joining Bluestein Attorneys, Clarke spent nearly five years as a public defender in Richland County, where he tried cases daily and developed the courtroom instincts that continue to define his practice. That experience gives his students a professor who still actively tries cases rather than one who merely lectures about them.

Clarke grew up in a military family and began working in law firms as a teenager, starting as a runner before becoming a law clerk. He is admitted to the South Carolina Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

He has been recognized as Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury (2025), holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and has been selected to both Super Lawyers and Legal Elite of the Midlands. Clarke is a graduate of Leadership Columbia (Class of 2020) and served on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands from 2018 to 2020.