Robertson H. Wendt, Jr.

Managing Member, Finkel Law Firm, LLC

4000 Faber Place Drive, Suite 450

Charleston, South Carolina 29405

e-mail: rwendt@finkellaw.com
phone: 843-577-5460
fax: 866-347-3906
web: www.finkellaw.com

Rob Wendt leads the Finkel Law Firm’s disability department representing clients in claims for Social Security disability, long term disability, and other disability benefit programs. He has practiced law in Charleston, S.C. since 1981 after earning his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law and has successfully handled thousands of disability claims in hearings before federal administrative law judges and in administrative and federal court appeals. He is a board-certified specialist in Social Security disability law, certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA).

Throughout his career, Rob has worked to improve the practice of disability law and to promote justice for the disabled. He has served as a leader in several state and national bar organizations; has worked with members of Congress and the Social Security Administration on disability law and policy; has served as speaker, trainer, and panelist on Social Security law and practice; and has addressed the public on disability issues in personal appearances and through the media.

In the late 1990’s, Rob conceived and promoted the creation of a national board certification for Social Security disability legal specialists to serve disability claimants looking for the most qualified lawyers to represent them. In 2005, the American Bar Association accredited the first national legal specialization program for Social Security disability attorneys through the NBTA, the country’s largest national certifying organization of legal specialists. Rob has served on the NBTA board of directors since 2012 and is active on several committees.

Because of his commitment to public and professional service, Rob was honored with a South Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s 2011 Leadership in Law award.

In 1993 Rob founded a small regional law firm in Charleston, SC focusing exclusively on disability benefits law. In 2016 Rob joined the Finkel Law Firm with the goal of building a statewide disability law practice for the firm, which has offices in Columbia and Charleston, SC. He is committed to using his many years of experience to train a new generation of lawyers and professional legal staff to represent disabled clients with the highest degree of professionalism and service.

Areas of Practice:

Social Security Disability

Long Term Disability

Bar Admissions:

South Carolina, 1981

United States District Court, District of South Carolina, 1982

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, 1983

Supreme Court of the United States, 2019

Education:

University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, S.C., 1981

Juris Doctor

Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, 1978

Bachelor of Arts

St. Andrew’s School, Middletown, Delaware, graduated 1974

Judicial Clerkships:

The Honorable Klyde Robinson, South Carolina Circuit Judge, Ninth Judicial Circuit, 1981-1982

The Honorable Lawrence E. Richter, Jr., South Carolina Circuit Judge, Ninth Judicial Circuit, 1982

Government Service – Criminal Prosecutor:

Assistant Solicitor (state criminal prosecutor), Ninth Judicial Circuit 1990-1994, Appointed by Ninth Circuit Solicitor Charles Condon as South Carolina’s first state environmental crimes prosecutor, focusing on white collar pollution/hazardous waste crimes.

Special Assistant United States Attorney, 1992. Appointed by United States Attorney Bart Daniel to assist in prosecution of complex international case involving illegal manufacture, transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste. United States v. Stoller Chemical Company Inc., et al.

Public Offices:

Chair, Charleston County Business License/User Fee Appeals Board, 1989-1991, Appointed by Charleston County Council.

Chair, Charleston Area Mental Health Center Board, 1986-1988. Appointed 1983 by Governor Richard Riley, reappointed 1987 by Governor Carroll Campbell.

Current Professional Associations and Memberships:

National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR)

  • Officer – Secretary 2022-2023
  • Executive Committee
  • Board of Directors – 4th Circuit, 2022 to present
  • Chair – Policy Committee

National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA)

  • Certified specialist, Social Security Disability Advocacy, certified 2008, recertified 2013 and 2018
  • Board of Directors 2012 to present
  • Examination Committee
  • Communications & Membership Committee

American Association for Justice (AAJ)

South Carolina Bar

South Carolina Association for Justice (SCAJ)

Charleston County Bar Association

Past Professional Leadership Positions:

American Association for Justice

  • Founding member of Social Security Disability Law Section
  • Chair, Social Security Disability Law Section, 2000-2001

South Carolina Association for Justice

  • Elected to Board of Directors representing Ninth Judicial Circuit, 1999-2002
  • Chair, Social Security Section, 1997-2000, 2003-2007

Federal Bar Association, South Carolina Chapter

  • Board of Directors, 2003-2005

National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR)

  • Board of Directors, at-large representative, 2016-2017

Representative Cases:

  • Shelley C. v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 61 F.4th 341(4th Cir. 2023)
  • Arakas v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 983 F.3d 83 (4th Cir. 2020)
  • Meyer v. Astrue, 662 F.3d 700 (4th Cir. 2011)
  • Jepson v. U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Servs., 977 F.2d 911 (4th Cir. 1992)
  • Rhodes v. Palmetto Pathway Homes, Inc., 303 S.C. 308, 400 S.E.2d 484 (1991)

Serving the people and businesses of South Carolina for over fifty years.