Joseph Preston Strom

Joseph Preston “Pete” Strom, Jr., the managing partner at Strom Law Firm, L.L.C., has been fighting for justice since 1984.

Born in Columbia, South Carolina in 1959, Pete attended the University of South Carolina and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts. While attending the University of South Carolina, Pete served as President of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Pete attended the University of South Carolina School of Law where he graduated with a J.D. in 1984.

After graduating from law school, Pete served as law clerk to the Honorable Frank Eppes, a South Carolina State Trial Court Judge.

In 1985, Pete joined the Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office as an Assistant Solicitor. While serving as Assistant Solicitor, Pete handled over 200 drug cases, prosecuting the largest heroin trafficking case in South Carolina at that time, a case involving over 100 grams of heroin.

After a stint in private practice, practicing as a partner in three law firms, Pete was named United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina in 1993. At the time he was appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno, Pete was the youngest U.S. Attorney in the country.

As the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, Pete created the Violent Crimes Task Force in South Carolina, which Attorney General Reno referred to as “a national model for the country through a provocative violent crime initiative”. During his service as U.S. Attorney, Pete served on Justice Department committees relating to organized crime, white collar crime, sentencing guidelines, and juvenile justice. Pete also attended the Harvard University Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.