James W. Alford was born January 7, 1930, in Walterboro, South Carolina, to parents Grace Gipson Alford and Lora Warner Alford. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina and his LL.B. from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Alford was the founding member of Barnes, Alford, Stork and Johnson, LLP in 1983 upon the merger of Barnes, Stork, Wolff & Reyner and the firm of Alford, Johnson and Salane. From 1993 to 1995, he was listed in The Best Lawyers of America.
Alford was a member of the Richland County Bar Association, where he served as president from 1993 to 1994; the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel; Defense Research Institute; South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association, where he served as president from 1974 to 1975; South Carolina Bar; and the American Board of Trial Attorneys.
He was a member of Shandon Presbyterian Church. During his college years, he was a member of the South Carolina Law Review, Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, Clariosophic Literary Society and the University of South Carolina Debate Team. James W. Alford died on February 24, 2008. He is survived by his wife, Elisabeth M. Alford; son, James W. Alford Jr. (daughter-in-law, Kathie B. Alford); brother, William L. Alford (sister-in-law, Gunilla Alford); two grandchildren, Kate Gipson Alford and Breck Burch; niece, Mia Hrabec; and nephew, Lars Alford.