Professor John P. Freeman was born April 7, 1945, in Canton, IL, to parents Karleen Scott and Corwin S. Freeman. He attended the University of Notre Dame, where he received his B.A. in Accounting in 1967; and his J.D. in 1970. He received his LLM in 1976 from the University of Pennsylvania.
From 1970-1972, he practiced at the Jones Day Law Firm in Cleveland, OH. He was a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School Center for the Study of Financial Institutions from 1972-1973. Following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina, where he made a name for himself as a gifted teacher and nationally recognized expert on legal ethics, corporations, and white-collar crime.
During his tenure at the University of South Carolina, he served as assistant professor of law from 1973-1975; associate professor of law from 1975-1978; and professor of law from 1978-2008. In 2008, he retired from the University as Distinguished Professor Emeritus, and Jon T. Campbell Chair of Business and Professional Ethics Emeritus.
From 1974-1975, Professor Freeman served as Special Counsel of the Division of Investment Management SEC in Washington, DC. He was a visiting professor at the Loyola Law School in Chicago in the spring of 1977; and at the University of Texas Law School in the summer of 1978.
Professor Freeman was admitted to practice law in Ohio, SC, and Washington; and before the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Judicial Circuit; U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado; and the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington.
He served as chair of the Supreme Court Commission on CLE and Specialization from 1980-1983. He was appointed to the S.C. Judicial Merit Selection Com- mission in 2001. He received The John Belton O’Neall American Inn of Court, McDonald/Rhodes Award in 2010; and the Winston Churchill Award from the SC Trial Lawyers Association in 1995. From 1999-2008, he submitted regular scholarly and professional writings in the South Carolina Lawyer. He also taught numerous continuing legal education courses, sponsored by the SC Bar and other entities.
While not teaching law, he volunteered in his community. He was president of the Leaphart Elementary School PTO in 1983; chair of the Irmo Middle School Improvement Council; president of the Irmo High School Parent Teacher Association; and founder and past president of the Notre Dame Club of SC. In 1993, he was recognized as the Lexington District Five and SC State School Volunteer of the Year.
Professor John P. Freeman died on October 21, 2021. He is survived by his spouse, Nancy Krupnick Freeman; two daughters who both followed their father into law, Gretchen F. Cappio (Adam) and Nora F. Engstrom (David); and four grandchildren, Beatrice Cappio, Julia Cappio, Connor Engstrom, and Elliot Engstrom.