PEMBERTON
Estate planning and fiduciary counsel for Lowcountry families navigating complex estates, fiduciary roles, and the transitions that follow.
Estate Planning & Fiduciary Counsel
Margaret Holloway
Estate Planning & Fiduciary Counsel
Margaret Holloway
[
Philosophy
]
Mission
Holloway Law was built for families whose estates have outgrown form-document planning but who get lost at larger firms where they become one matter among hundreds. Margaret spent nine years at King & Spalding and a family office before opening this practice.
Vision
A Lowcountry practice known for running both sides of the estate ledger — planning and litigation — under one roof. The clients this practice is built for have already outgrown the alternatives.
Values
Every client works directly with Margaret — not an associate, not a paralegal. Documents are drafted knowing how they'll read in a courtroom. Honest counsel means saying what the situation requires, not what the client wants to hear.
[
Philosophy
]
Mission
Holloway Law was built for families whose estates have outgrown form-document planning but who get lost at larger firms where they become one matter among hundreds. Margaret spent nine years at King & Spalding and a family office before opening this practice.
Vision
A Lowcountry practice known for running both sides of the estate ledger — planning and litigation — under one roof. The clients this practice is built for have already outgrown the alternatives.
Values
Every client works directly with Margaret — not an associate, not a paralegal. Documents are drafted knowing how they'll read in a courtroom. Honest counsel means saying what the situation requires, not what the client wants to hear.
[
Philosophy
]
Mission
Holloway Law was built for families whose estates have outgrown form-document planning but who get lost at larger firms where they become one matter among hundreds. Margaret spent nine years at King & Spalding and a family office before opening this practice.
Vision
A Lowcountry practice known for running both sides of the estate ledger — planning and litigation — under one roof. The clients this practice is built for have already outgrown the alternatives.
Values
Every client works directly with Margaret — not an associate, not a paralegal. Documents are drafted knowing how they'll read in a courtroom. Honest counsel means saying what the situation requires, not what the client wants to hear.
[
Philosophy
]
Mission
Holloway Law was built for families whose estates have outgrown form-document planning but who get lost at larger firms where they become one matter among hundreds. Margaret spent nine years at King & Spalding and a family office before opening this practice.
Vision
A Lowcountry practice known for running both sides of the estate ledger — planning and litigation — under one roof. The clients this practice is built for have already outgrown the alternatives.
Values
Every client works directly with Margaret — not an associate, not a paralegal. Documents are drafted knowing how they'll read in a courtroom. Honest counsel means saying what the situation requires, not what the client wants to hear.
[
Services
]
Everything Your Family's Estate Requires, Handled Under One Roof
[
Services
]
Everything Your Family's Estate Requires, Handled Under One Roof
Estate Planning
Revocable and irrevocable trusts, wills, generation-skipping plans, asset protection, and lifetime gifting strategies for families with complex assets.
Estate Planning
Revocable and irrevocable trusts, wills, generation-skipping plans, asset protection, and lifetime gifting strategies for families with complex assets.
Estate Planning
Revocable and irrevocable trusts, wills, generation-skipping plans, asset protection, and lifetime gifting strategies for families with complex assets.
Fiduciary Litigation
Will contests, trust disputes, breach of duty claims, trustee removal, undue influence, and capacity challenges — through trial if necessary.
Fiduciary Litigation
Will contests, trust disputes, breach of duty claims, trustee removal, undue influence, and capacity challenges — through trial if necessary.
Fiduciary Litigation
Will contests, trust disputes, breach of duty claims, trustee removal, undue influence, and capacity challenges — through trial if necessary.
Probate & Trust Administration
Guiding executors, trustees, and beneficiaries through probate proceedings, trust accountings, creditor claims, and the administration of complex estates.
Probate & Trust Administration
Guiding executors, trustees, and beneficiaries through probate proceedings, trust accountings, creditor claims, and the administration of complex estates.
Probate & Trust Administration
Guiding executors, trustees, and beneficiaries through probate proceedings, trust accountings, creditor claims, and the administration of complex estates.
Business Succession Planning
Buy-sell agreements, family LLC structures, generational transfers, and operating agreements designed to move a business through ownership transitions intact.
Business Succession Planning
Buy-sell agreements, family LLC structures, generational transfers, and operating agreements designed to move a business through ownership transitions intact.
Business Succession Planning
Buy-sell agreements, family LLC structures, generational transfers, and operating agreements designed to move a business through ownership transitions intact.
Tax & Charitable Planning
Federal estate and gift tax strategy, GST planning, charitable trusts, private foundations, and donor-advised fund structures for philanthropically-minded families.
Tax & Charitable Planning
Federal estate and gift tax strategy, GST planning, charitable trusts, private foundations, and donor-advised fund structures for philanthropically-minded families.
Tax & Charitable Planning
Federal estate and gift tax strategy, GST planning, charitable trusts, private foundations, and donor-advised fund structures for philanthropically-minded families.
Fiduciary Representation
Counsel for individual and corporate trustees, executors, and beneficiaries navigating the legal responsibilities — and disputes — that complex estates produce.
Fiduciary Representation
Counsel for individual and corporate trustees, executors, and beneficiaries navigating the legal responsibilities — and disputes — that complex estates produce.
Fiduciary Representation
Counsel for individual and corporate trustees, executors, and beneficiaries navigating the legal responsibilities — and disputes — that complex estates produce.
The families that come through a transition with their relationships intact didn't get lucky. Somewhere, at some point, someone made careful decisions about the things that matter most — and made sure those decisions were clear, complete, and built to hold. That's not luck. That's preparation.
Trusted expertise in every practice area
[
Our Services
]
Our Process From Vision to Execution
[
Our Services
]
Our Process From Vision to Execution
[
Practice Areas
]
Our Practice Areas
Our Practice Areas
Our Practice Areas
[
Process
]
[
Process
]
Our Process
Our Process
Our Process
01
02
03
04
Initial Consultation
A direct conversation with Margaret — by phone or Zoom — to understand your family, your assets, and what you're trying to accomplish.
Initial Consultation
A direct conversation with Margaret — by phone or Zoom — to understand your family, your assets, and what you're trying to accomplish.
Initial Consultation
A direct conversation with Margaret — by phone or Zoom — to understand your family, your assets, and what you're trying to accomplish.
Assessment & Strategy
A thorough review of existing documents, structures, and gaps before any drafting or strategy begins. No position is taken until the full picture is clear.
Assessment & Strategy
A thorough review of existing documents, structures, and gaps before any drafting or strategy begins. No position is taken until the full picture is clear.
Assessment & Strategy
A thorough review of existing documents, structures, and gaps before any drafting or strategy begins. No position is taken until the full picture is clear.
Drafting & Execution
The plan gets built or the matter gets moved — every document reviewed directly with Margaret, every litigation decision made with the same personal attention.
Drafting & Execution
The plan gets built or the matter gets moved — every document reviewed directly with Margaret, every litigation decision made with the same personal attention.
Drafting & Execution
The plan gets built or the matter gets moved — every document reviewed directly with Margaret, every litigation decision made with the same personal attention.
Ongoing Counsel
Completed plans need to stay current. Margaret remains available as circumstances change and sees every matter through to its final resolution.
Ongoing Counsel
Completed plans need to stay current. Margaret remains available as circumstances change and sees every matter through to its final resolution.
Ongoing Counsel
Completed plans need to stay current. Margaret remains available as circumstances change and sees every matter through to its final resolution.
[
Founding Lawyer
]
[
Founding Lawyer
]
A Boutique Practice, Led by a Senior Attorney.
Margaret Holloway
Founding Attorney
Margaret Holloway
Founding Attorney
Margaret Holloway grew up watching what happens when families don't have the right documents in place. Her grandmother left a small farm outside Walterboro to three daughters with the assumption they'd figure it out together. They didn't. That experience — and what she took from it — is the reason she went to law school and the reason she stayed in this area of the law. She earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2012, graduating Order of the Coif, and her undergraduate degree in History from Davidson College. She spent seven years in the private wealth group at King & Spalding in Atlanta before serving as in-house counsel to a multigenerational family office in Greenville. She opened Holloway Law in 2019.
What makes her practice different is that she runs both sides of it. Margaret drafts the trusts, partnership agreements, and succession plans that hold families together — and when those plans are challenged, she's the one in the room. Most attorneys choose one side. She chose both deliberately, because the work on each side makes her dramatically better at the other. Clients find her direct, unhurried, and unusually willing to tell them what they actually need to hear rather than what they want to. For families navigating something genuinely complex — a blended household, a contested estate, a business moving across generations — that combination of candor and range tends to be exactly what the situation requires.
[
Credentials
]
Professional Credentials
Education
J.D., Law / Georgetown University Law Center / 2009
Journal / Georgetown Law Journal, Senior Editor / 2008-2009
B.A., Political Science / Johns Hopkins University / 2006
Bar Admissions
Maryland / All state and federal courts / Admitted 2009
District of Columbia / All state and federal courts / Admitted 2010
Virginia / All state courts / Admitted 2012
U.S. District / CourtDistrict of Maryland / Admitted 2010
U.S. District / CourtEastern District of Virginia / Admitted 2013
Professional Recognition
Best Lawyers in America / Business Law / 2023, 2024, 2025
Maryland Super Lawyers / Business / Corporate Law / 2019–2025
Bethesda Magazine / Top Attorneys / 2021, 2023, 2025
Washingtonian Magazine / Top Lawyers / 2022, 2024
Martindale-Hubbell / AV Preeminent Rating / Current
International Franchise Association / Member, Legal/Legislative Committee / 2018–Present
[
TESTIMONIALS
]
What Our Clients Say About Us
[
TESTIMONIALS
]
What Our Clients Say About Us
[
TESTIMONIALS
]
What Our Clients Say About Us
"Margaret spent more time understanding our family than she did drafting our trust — which is exactly why the trust actually works."
Catherine Marsh
Charleston, SC
"Margaret spent more time understanding our family than she did drafting our trust — which is exactly why the trust actually works."
Catherine Marsh
Charleston, SC
"Margaret spent more time understanding our family than she did drafting our trust — which is exactly why the trust actually works."
Catherine Marsh
Charleston, SC
"We came to her after a probate dispute had already turned hostile. She found the off-ramp three other lawyers had missed."
Robert Davenport
Mount Pleasant, SC
"We came to her after a probate dispute had already turned hostile. She found the off-ramp three other lawyers had missed."
Robert Davenport
Mount Pleasant, SC
"We came to her after a probate dispute had already turned hostile. She found the off-ramp three other lawyers had missed."
Robert Davenport
Mount Pleasant, SC
"She negotiated lease terms my last attorney told me weren't possible. Saved us $180,000 over the term."
Elaine Thorn
Beaufort, SC
"She negotiated lease terms my last attorney told me weren't possible. Saved us $180,000 over the term."
Elaine Thorn
Beaufort, SC
"She negotiated lease terms my last attorney told me weren't possible. Saved us $180,000 over the term."
Elaine Thorn
Beaufort, SC
"She took a succession problem that had been sitting unresolved for four years and structured it in a way that every member of the family could actually live with. I still don't fully understand how she did it."
James Whitfield
Savannah, GA
"She took a succession problem that had been sitting unresolved for four years and structured it in a way that every member of the family could actually live with. I still don't fully understand how she did it."
James Whitfield
Savannah, GA
"She took a succession problem that had been sitting unresolved for four years and structured it in a way that every member of the family could actually live with. I still don't fully understand how she did it."
James Whitfield
Savannah, GA
[
faq
]
[
FAQ
]
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
01.
How is working with a boutique firm different from working with a large estate planning department?
At a large firm, a matter is usually divided among partners, associates, paralegals, and specialists, and the relationship lives mostly with whoever is available that week. At Holloway Law, you work directly with me — every conversation, every draft, every revision. Fewer people in the room means less translation between them, and a plan that reflects your family rather than a firm-wide template.
02.
When should I get an attorney involved in an estate or trust dispute?
Earlier than most people think. Once a dispute has formed, positions harden quickly and options narrow. If you're already seeing signs of conflict — a trustee who isn't communicating, a family member questioning a will, a beneficiary being excluded from information — it's worth a conversation before things escalate.
03.
How often should an estate plan be reviewed or updated?
A meaningful review makes sense after any significant change — marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a business event, a death in the family, or a substantial shift in assets. Beyond that, a check-in every three to five years is reasonable to catch anything that has drifted out of alignment.
04.
We have a family business — does that change our estate planning needs?
Significantly. A business introduces questions a standard estate plan isn't built to answer: who takes over, on what terms, and what happens if the people involved disagree. The succession structure and the estate plan need to be coordinated from the beginning — built together, not bolted together after the fact.
05.
Can the same attorney handle both estate planning and litigation?
At most firms, no — planning and litigation are separate departments with separate attorneys. At Holloway Law, both sides of the practice sit with the same attorney. That matters because the litigation experience informs how planning documents are drafted, and the planning background informs how disputes get resolved.
01.
How is working with a boutique firm different from working with a large estate planning department?
At a large firm, a matter is usually divided among partners, associates, paralegals, and specialists, and the relationship lives mostly with whoever is available that week. At Holloway Law, you work directly with me — every conversation, every draft, every revision. Fewer people in the room means less translation between them, and a plan that reflects your family rather than a firm-wide template.
02.
When should I get an attorney involved in an estate or trust dispute?
Earlier than most people think. Once a dispute has formed, positions harden quickly and options narrow. If you're already seeing signs of conflict — a trustee who isn't communicating, a family member questioning a will, a beneficiary being excluded from information — it's worth a conversation before things escalate.
03.
How often should an estate plan be reviewed or updated?
A meaningful review makes sense after any significant change — marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a business event, a death in the family, or a substantial shift in assets. Beyond that, a check-in every three to five years is reasonable to catch anything that has drifted out of alignment.
04.
We have a family business — does that change our estate planning needs?
Significantly. A business introduces questions a standard estate plan isn't built to answer: who takes over, on what terms, and what happens if the people involved disagree. The succession structure and the estate plan need to be coordinated from the beginning — built together, not bolted together after the fact.
05.
Can the same attorney handle both estate planning and litigation?
At most firms, no — planning and litigation are separate departments with separate attorneys. At Holloway Law, both sides of the practice sit with the same attorney. That matters because the litigation experience informs how planning documents are drafted, and the planning background informs how disputes get resolved.
01.
How is working with a boutique firm different from working with a large estate planning department?
At a large firm, a matter is usually divided among partners, associates, paralegals, and specialists, and the relationship lives mostly with whoever is available that week. At Holloway Law, you work directly with me — every conversation, every draft, every revision. Fewer people in the room means less translation between them, and a plan that reflects your family rather than a firm-wide template.
02.
When should I get an attorney involved in an estate or trust dispute?
Earlier than most people think. Once a dispute has formed, positions harden quickly and options narrow. If you're already seeing signs of conflict — a trustee who isn't communicating, a family member questioning a will, a beneficiary being excluded from information — it's worth a conversation before things escalate.
03.
How often should an estate plan be reviewed or updated?
A meaningful review makes sense after any significant change — marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a business event, a death in the family, or a substantial shift in assets. Beyond that, a check-in every three to five years is reasonable to catch anything that has drifted out of alignment.
04.
We have a family business — does that change our estate planning needs?
Significantly. A business introduces questions a standard estate plan isn't built to answer: who takes over, on what terms, and what happens if the people involved disagree. The succession structure and the estate plan need to be coordinated from the beginning — built together, not bolted together after the fact.
05.
Can the same attorney handle both estate planning and litigation?
At most firms, no — planning and litigation are separate departments with separate attorneys. At Holloway Law, both sides of the practice sit with the same attorney. That matters because the litigation experience informs how planning documents are drafted, and the planning background informs how disputes get resolved.
[
CONTACT
]
[
CONTACT
]
Let's Start With a Conversation.
Let's Start With a Conversation.
Initial consultations are by phone or Zoom — a direct conversation with Margaret about your situation and whether Holloway Law is the right fit. There's no obligation, and no referral to someone else.
Initial consultations are by phone or Zoom — a direct conversation with Margaret about your situation and whether Holloway Law is the right fit. There's no obligation, and no referral to someone else.