Roy Willey

Willey was born in 1987. He attended Harvard University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American government and politics.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/11/30/willey-snow-dont-stay-the-course-cast/|title=Willey-Snow: Don't Stay the Course, Cast a Vote for Change | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson|website=www.thecrimson.com}} At Harvard, he was active in student politics and co-authored opinion pieces urging campus reform.https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/11/30/willey-snow-dont-stay-the/{{Dead link | date=June 2025 | fix-attempted=yes}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/11/14/willey-to-enter-council-race-a/|title=Willey To Enter Council Race | News | The Harvard Crimson|website=www.thecrimson.com}} Later, he earned his Juris Doctor from Charleston School of Law. During law school, Willey founded the Society of the Gavel, a merit-based organization for student collaboration.{{Cite web|url=https://sclawyersweekly.com/news/2012/06/15/class-conflict-at-charleston-school-of-law/|title=Class conflict at Charleston School of Law – South Carolina Lawyers Weekly|first=Phillip|last=Bantz|date=June 15, 2012}}

In 2014, Willey represented the estate of Frank "Randy" Bales in a wrongful death case. The Charleston County Court of Common Pleas jury awarded $50 million ($20 million in actual damages and $30 million in punitive damages). It was the highest actual-damage verdict in Charleston County history at that time.{{Cite web|url=https://sclawyersweekly.com/news/tag/top-verdicts-and-settlements/|title=Top Verdicts and Settlements – South Carolina Lawyers Weekly|date=March 24, 2022}}

From January 2016 to June 2017, Willey served as an advisor to Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg.{{Cite web|url=https://www.postandcourier.com/news/charleston-audit-committee-requests-work-reports-of-contract-attorney-and-tecklenburg-supporter/article_277fcfcc-c2af-11e9-b444-076408323f62.html|title=Charleston audit committee requests work reports of contract attorney and Tecklenburg supporter|first=Mikaela |last=Porter |date=August 19, 2019|website=Post and Courier}}

In 2020, Willey helped launch nationwide COVID-19 pandemic tuition-refund litigation, filing suits on behalf of students at Columbia University, Pace University, Temple University and Suffolk University who claimed breach of contract when in-person instruction moved online.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2020/05/05/will-lawsuits-help-college-students-get-coronavirus-refunds/|title=Will Lawsuits Help College Students Get Coronavirus Refunds?|first=Susan|last=Adams|website=Forbes}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/more-60-colleges-hit-lawsuits-students-demand-tuition-refunds-1512378|title=More Than 60 Colleges Hit With Lawsuits As Students Demand Tuition Refunds|date=June 23, 2020|website=Newsweek}}

He served as lead counsel in Benjamin Ramey et al. v. The Pennsylvania State University, which resulted in a $17 million settlement.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wfmj.com/story/51862975/penn-state-agrees-to-dollar17-million-settlement-for-students-enrolled-during-pandemic|title=Penn State agrees to $17 million settlement for students enrolled during pandemic|website=www.wfmj.com}}

He also secured a $12.5 million settlement with Columbia University in Student A v. The Board of Trustees of Columbia University.{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/columbia-university-pay-125-mln-settle-covid-19-refund-claims-2021-11-24/ | title=Columbia University to pay $12.5 MLN to settle COVID-19 refund claims | work=Reuters | date=24 November 2021 | last1=Stempel | first1=Jonathan }}

In November 2021, he obtained a $10 million jury verdict against Walmart in a case involving an amputee.{{Cite web|url=https://sclawyersweekly.com/news/2022/03/24/top-verdicts-settlements-of-2021/|title=Top Verdicts & Settlements of 2021 – South Carolina Lawyers Weekly|first=David|last=Donovan|date=March 24, 2022}}

In February 2025, Willey acted as lead counsel for Dawn Conley, mother of 17-year-old murder victim Brittanee Drexel, in a Georgetown County civil action against confessed killer Raymond Moody; the jury returned a US $700 million award, US $200 million in compensatory damages and US $500 million in punitive damages.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wdbj7.com/2025/02/27/jury-awards-700m-brittanee-drexels-mother-lawsuit-against-daughters-killer/|title=Jury awards $700M to Brittanee Drexel's mother in lawsuit against daughter's killer |first=Ale |last=Espinosa |date=February 27, 2025|website=WDBJ7}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.live5news.com/2025/02/25/jury-awards-200-million-damages-brittanee-drexels-family/|title=Jury awards $700 million in damages to Brittanee Drexel's family|first=Melissa|last=Rademaker|date=February 25, 2025}}

Willey has also handled several civil-rights cases, including litigation that resulted in the South Carolina Secessionist Party being ordered to disband.{{Cite web | title=Judge orders SC Secessionist Party to disband | url=https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/charleston-county-news/judge-orders-sc-secessionist-party-to-disband/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629070309/https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/charleston-county-news/judge-orders-sc-secessionist-party-to-disband/ | access-date=2025-06-16 | archive-date=2019-06-29}}

Willey resides on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, with his wife Kelsey O. Willey, an attorney practicing probate and personal-injury law. The couple has two children.{{Cite web|url=https://sc.emergeamerica.org/alumna/kelsey-willey/|title=Kelsey Willey|website=Emerge South Carolina}}

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Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American lawyers

Category:Lawyers from Charleston, South Carolina

Category:Harvard College alumni