As the eldest of seven children in a poor Kansas family, Paul Hulsey knew what it meant to go to school with no breakfast and to bed with no dinner. “But you know, I saw it as a positive thing,” he says. “I’ve had a job since the third grade, and I learned that work was good. I was happy to make my own money and help my family.” And he’s been giving back ever since.
An ironclad work ethic, the confidence of early maturity, and an irrepressibly positive attitude—all of which he attributes to his mother’s influence—carried Hulsey to the heights of success as an attorney and partner of Hulsey Law Group. “My mom was a really strong person,” he says. “She taught me to view every difficulty as an opportunity. Now I have more than I need, and when that’s the case, you should help other people.”
The donations Hulsey is able to give are an integral part of his life and work. He schedules time each day to focus on personal philanthropy while instilling this ethic within the firm. “From the beginning at Hulsey Law Group, we committed to ourselves and to our employees that whenever we received a legal fee, we would set aside an amount to give back to those most in need,” explains partner Cherie Durand. “This commitment stems from Paul’s long-held philosophy that ‘success carries with it an obligation to help those less fortunate’.”
Keeping his ear to the ground for needs in the community, Hulsey gives to those most vulnerable—primarily devel-opmentally disabled children, families stricken with agonizing poverty, and the hungry. When it comes to philanthropy, he knows how to deliver a difference. From providing a safe home for an impoverished family with nine children to giving $1 million to the Lowcountry Food Bank’s “Growing Forward” capital campaign, his strategy is clear: Make donations with a direct benefit either to an individual or to the future of an entire organization. “I went to a Catholic school and sometimes the public school down the street would give us their extra milk; I know how happy a two-cent carton of milk can make a child.”
Business Profile:
Some of the local nonprofits supported by Paul Hulsey and Hulsey Litigation Group:
• Lowcountry Food Bank
• Kids’ Cafe Program of the Lowcountry Food Bank
• Crisis Ministries
• Rural Mission
• Medical University of South Carolina Children’s Hospital
• Special Olympics
• YESCarolina
• Family Services, Inc.
• Good News Christian School after-school & summer programs
