IronsideCriminal DefenseIronsideCriminal DefenseThe attorneys
A former state and federal prosecutor who spent almost a decade learning how the other side builds a case, and who now uses that to defend people charged across South Carolina.
Founding partner
Sloan Ellis spent close to ten years as a state and federal prosecutor. His public service began at the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office in Greenville, where he handled thousands of state cases, including burglary, armed robbery, drug charges and fraud. Most of the cases he worked on involved people who had never sat in a courtroom before. Early in his career, he learned that the file in front of a prosecutor almost never contains the part of the story that matters most.
He then spent several years on the defense side, first in Charleston with former U.S. Attorney E. Bart Daniel, where he was part of the trial team in what has been called the largest and most complex white collar investigation in South Carolina history. In his next role at Nexsen Pruet, he worked directly for William W. Wilkins, former Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and Chair of the Federal Sentencing Commission. He also argued appeals before the Fourth Circuit, the South Carolina Supreme Court, and the South Carolina Court of Appeals.
As a federal prosecutor, Sloan worked with the FBI, DEA, IRS, Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, SLED, and the South Carolina Department of Revenue on violent crimes, drug offenses, and financial crimes. With Brandi Hinton, he prosecuted the fiftieth person in the country charged with fraud connected to the Paycheck Protection Program.
Sloan earned the 2020 U.S. Attorney's Award for excellence in prosecution. He has been named to Rising Stars in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2023, and has been selected to Super Lawyers every year since 2024. Because he knows how the other side thinks, he can build a plan early and tell a client what is likely to happen before it happens, rather than after.
Sloan is a ninth-generation South Carolinian who grew up on a farm in the small town of Due West. Farm work taught him early on that results come from preparation rather than volume, and that is still how he approaches a case. The intensity shows up in the study and the planning, not in the noise.
He is a member of First Presbyterian Church and lives and practices in Greenville.
Juris Doctor, Charleston School of Law, 2008
Bachelor's, Presbyterian College, 2006
Admitted, South Carolina Bar, 2008
Haynsworth-Perry Inn of Court
South Carolina Bar
What Sloan handles
Both partners manage every case the firm takes, whatever the charge.
Where we appear
Ironside Criminal Defense is based in Greenville and appears across South Carolina, in state court and in federal court. Where your case is filed does not change who handles it.
What happens next
In your own words, at your own pace. We will ask questions, and some of them will be uncomfortable. Nothing you say surprises us.
What the charge actually means, how it is usually handled, and what is realistic. Including the parts you would rather not hear.
What we intend to do, what we need from you, and what happens on what date. You should never be surprised by a result.
We make the first move, so the prosecutor reviewing your file sees a person with a story rather than a name on a warrant.
On costCost is usually the first question, and we answer it before you decide anything. If your case goes to trial, our fee does not go up.
Contact
What comes next depends on how you move forward from it. Tell us what happened, and we will tell you what you are facing. Our consultations are free, and with an attorney.
21 Augusta Street, Suite C
Greenville, SC 29601
Free, and with an attorney. Sloan or Brandi reads every inquiry.