Attorney | Governance | Higher Education
Clay advises universities and affiliated foundations on the design and operation of legal structures that align institutional mission with philanthropy and long-term strategic objectives.
Clay M. Grayson is a university-side attorney focused on governance, nonprofit organizations, and the evolving business of higher education.
A frequent writer and speaker on the importance of good governance as a competitive advantage in higher education, Clay’s work has been featured by leading industry publications, including Sports Business Journal, Sportico, Bloomberg, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy. His commentary focuses on the unprecedented legal and governance challenges facing higher education today.
In college athletics, Clay advises universities on the development of affiliated entities, governance frameworks, and enterprise structures designed for the semi-professional environment of modern intercollegiate sports. Clay is the legal architect of the “Ventures” model, which his firm has deployed in universities across the power conferences. On July 16, 2026, the D1.ticker reported: “The wave of new athletic department LLCs being set up across the country is being largely backed by Grayson Law Firm.”
Clay is also the author of The Philanthropist Handbook: Finding Meaning in the Endowment of Humanity, which explores the architecture of modern giving and the role of structured philanthropy in advancing institutional mission. Released in late 2024, The Philanthropist Handbook became a best-seller on Amazon and was the 2025 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Medalist in Finance, Investment, and Economics.
Released in the summer of 2026, his book, SEMI-PRO: The Arc of College Sports from Amateur Ideal to Professional Reality, builds on that foundation. In SEMI-PRO, Clay examines the evolution of college athletics into a semi-professional system and outlines the governance frameworks required to support it. Together, his work and writing reflect a single throughline: designing durable systems that allow universities to operate effectively at scale without losing sight of their core mission.
- South Carolina
- U.S. Tax Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- LL.M., New York University
- J.D., University of South Carolina
- Master in International Business Studies, University of South Carolina
- Certificate, Bocconi, Milan, Italy (Italian/European Business, S.D.A.)
- B.A., College of Charleston (with honors)
- Recognized by Best Lawyers as "The Best Lawyers in America 2027"
- Recognized by Best Lawyers as “Lawyer of the Year 2024” in the category of Business Organizations for the Charleston, SC market
- Recognized by Best Lawyers in “Nonprofit/ Charities Law” and “Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships),” 2017-2024
- Selected for Charleston Regional Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40,” 2012
- Named as one of “The Rising Stars” by South Carolina Super Lawyers magazine, 2012 - 2014
- Member of Leadership Charleston, Class of 2008
- American Bar Association, Member
- American Health Lawyers Association, Member
- Hollings Cancer Center Advisory Citizens Council, Member
- SC Planned Giving Council, Director
- Charleston Jazz, Director and Secretary
- Charleston Tax Council, Member
- Together SC, formerly known as South Carolina Association of Nonprofit Organizations - pro bono general counsel, volunteer, past Board member.
- Charirman of the Board of the Martha and John M. Rivers Performance Hall foundation, which manages the Rivers Endowment for the Performing Arts