Meet Our Attorneys
At the Offices of MLB Law, we’re dedicated to providing the best possible legal services to clients throughout South Carolina. Criminal defense attorney Michael Brown and civil litigation attorney John Mark Shiflet bring decades of combined courtroom experience to a wide range of practice areas. Our law firm looks forward to helping you navigate the court system while fighting for the best possible outcome for you and your family.
Michael Brown
Michael Brown was born in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in 1958 and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. He has spent his professional career living and working in the York County area.
He graduated from Presbyterian College in 1980 with a Bachelor’s Degree in history. He then received his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1983.
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From 1980 to 1992, Mr. Brown served in the South Carolina National Guard. During that time, he commanded the 218th signal attachment, served as Aide de Camp to both Brigadier General John M. Hilliard and Brigadier General Addison, and commanded B Company of the 151 Signal Battalion. He also served as a Communications and Electronics Officer for the 3rd /178th Field artillery battalion stationed in Lancaster, South Carolina.
This service to our country only complements Mr. Brown’s distinguished legal career. He began practicing law at the Law Offices of Melvin Roberts in October 1983. After going to work at the Law Office of Samuel B. Fewell, Jr. in 1984, he was made partner in 1988. The firm then became known as Fewell, Brown, and Godbold. In 1991, Mr. Brown authored the custody law section of divorce in South Carolina Jurisprudence. In that same year, he established the firm of Gatlin, Brown, and Godbold. Then in 1993, Mr. Brown established the Law Offices of Michael L. Brown, Jr.
In his 40 years of practice, Mr. Brown has dedicated a substantial portion of his practice to defending the rights of individuals accused of crimes in the York County area, including several murder cases, high profile cases, and thousands of DUI cases. He has litigated and won cases at each court level in South Carolina and the United States with the exception of the United States Supreme Court. He has successfully won in municipal court, magistrate court, General Sessions, the Court of Common Pleas, South Carolina Administrative Law Court, the South Carolina Appellate Court, the South Carolina Supreme Court, federal district court, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Brown has successfully defended three death penalty cases and served as the post-conviction relief attorney on another. In the three cases that Mr. Brown defended at the trial level, he kept his clients off death row. In the Wardell Patterson case, Mr. Brown was associated with David Brooks, a world-renowned death penalty expert.
In his 40 years of experience, Mr. Brown has won trials and successfully argued cases in the following courts:
Federal
- Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
- Federal District Court
State
- South Carolina Supreme Court
- South Carolina Appellate Court
- South Carolina Administrative Law Court
- South Carolina Court of Common Pleas
- South Carolina Circuit Court (General Sessions)
- Magistrate Level Courts
- Municipal Level Courts
John Mark Shiflet
With more than 15 years of litigation experience, John Mark has the understanding and knowledge to assist clients with a variety of litigation matters. He focuses his practice on civil and probate litigation, condemnation actions, real estate litigation, and construction litigation.
John Mark understands that any litigation matter he is handling is very likely the most important issue that client is facing, and he prioritizes client needs and interests from start to finish. Above all, he works diligently to provide individuals and businesses the best legal representation and advocacy, whether that is with opposing counsel or in the courtroom.
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Admitted to the South Carolina Bar and licensed to practice in federal court, John Mark is a 2005 graduate of Furman University with a B.A. in History, where he was also a member of the Furman Paladins football team. He graduated cum laude from the Charleston School of Law in 2010, in the top 10% of his class.
After graduation, he served a year-long clerkship under the Honorable Lee S. Alford, a Circuit Court judge based in York County, South Carolina. Following his experience with Judge Alford, John Mark served as an assistant prosecutor in York County’s 16th Judicial Circuit for five years, where he litigated numerous jury trials. He then practiced for five years with a general practice law firm in Rock Hill, South Carolina, representing individual clients and businesses in a variety of criminal and civil litigation matters.
Before coming to MLB Law, John Mark worked in the federal disaster recovery field as a construction project manager and consulting attorney, drafting and reviewing construction contracts and working closely with governmental and program management representatives to ensure successful communication and coordination in achieving program objectives.
John Mark lives in York, South Carolina with his wife Maxi Shiflet, son John Coleman Shiflet III, and daughter Ella McCoy Shiflet.
Contact our office at (803) 328-8822 to discuss your case or to learn more about working with either of our attorneys.