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Tina Cundari

Partner | Columbia

Tina Cundari has nearly two decades of experience representing businesses, individuals, and government entities in a wide variety of litigation.  Her practice focuses primarily on commercial disputes, professional liability and ethics, appellate advocacy, False Claims Act litigation, and white-collar defense.  Tina also has extensive experience representing lawyers and law firms in legal malpractice actions and in proceedings before the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Learn more about Tina Cundari

Tina has tried cases in state and federal court and in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) forum.  She has argued appeals in the South Carolina Supreme Court, the South Carolina Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  She has also written oppositions to petitions for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.  

Tina joined Smith Robinson in March 2023 after serving as an Assistant United States Attorney and Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina.  Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Tina practiced law at a South Carolina firm for thirteen years, seven years as a member.   

Tina began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Jean Hoefer Toal, former Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.  Tina also had the privilege of clerking for the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., United States District Court Judge, during the summer of 2010.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Tina grew up in Ladson, South Carolina, where she attended public schools.  She got her first legal job when she was 19 years old, working as a file clerk and later as a paralegal at a large plaintiff’s firm in Charleston.  Tina is married to Cory Manning, an Iowa native and also a lawyer. 

Tina Cundari has nearly two decades of experience representing businesses, individuals, and government entities in a wide variety of litigation.  Her practice focuses primarily on commercial disputes, professional liability and ethics, appellate advocacy, False Claims Act litigation, and white-collar defense.  Tina also has extensive experience representing lawyers and law firms in legal malpractice actions and in proceedings before the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Click here to learn more about Tina Cundari

Tina has tried cases in state and federal court and in the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) forum.  She has argued appeals in the South Carolina Supreme Court, the South Carolina Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  She has also written oppositions to petitions for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court.  

Tina joined Smith Robinson in March 2023 after serving as an Assistant United States Attorney and Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina.  Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Tina practiced law at a South Carolina firm for thirteen years, seven years as a member.   

Tina began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Jean Hoefer Toal, former Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.  Tina also had the privilege of clerking for the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., United States District Court Judge, during the summer of 2010.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Tina grew up in Ladson, South Carolina, where she attended public schools.  She got her first legal job when she was 19 years old, working as a file clerk and later as a paralegal at a large plaintiff’s firm in Charleston.  Tina is married to Cory Manning, an Iowa native and also a lawyer. 

Education

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, J.D., 2003
  • College of Charleston, Honors Program, B.A. in English, 1996

Admissions

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
  • South Carolina Bar

Honors

  • 2023 "Midlands Legal Elite" for Criminal White Collar, Professional Liability, Columbia Business Monthly
  • Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation, 2018; Appellate Practice, 2016 – 2018)
  • South Carolina “Super Lawyer” (Business Litigation, 2016 – 2018; Rising Star, Business Litigation, 2012 – 2014)
  • S.C. Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year (2016)
  • Leadership in the Law award, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly
  • “Women to Watch” honoree, Columbia Regional Business Report 
  • “20 Under 40” award, The State Newspaper 

Professional Memberships

  • South Carolina Law Initiative Council
  • S.C. Chapter of the Women's White Collar Defense Association, Secretary and Founding Member
  • John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court, President (2013 – 2014)
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Richland County Bar Association, Co-Chair of the Wellness Committee (2019 – 2021) 
  • South Carolina Women Lawyers Association

Community

  • College of Charleston Foundation
    • Board member since 2016
    • Chair of the Development Committee (2020 – present)
    • Executive Committee (2020 – present)
  • Past Chair, Board of Directors, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Columbia
  • Past President, Shandon Neighborhood Council

Publications

  • Co-Author, “Oral Argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit,” Practicing Before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: A Guide from Start to Finish, S.C. Bar (2022)
  • Editorial Board, Appellate Practice in South Carolina, 3d edition (2017)
  • Author, “Arbitrating a Case in the FINRA forum,” S.C. Lawyer (Nov. 2016)
  • Chapter Author, Madam Chief Justice, USC Press (2015)
  • Co-Author, “Who Can Stay and Who Must Go: The Tension Between Witness Sequestration and the Right of Crime Victims to be Present,” S.C. Lawyer (Mar. 2010)

Other Experience

  • Adjunct Instructor, University of South Carolina School of Law (Aug. 2022 – May 2023)
    • Taught advanced legal writing course, “Legal Writing for the Courts”
  • Adjunct Instructor, University of South Carolina School of Law (Aug. 2004 – May 2005)
    • Taught legal writing to first-year students