Kinli Bare Abee, 2004

Kinli is a 2008 graduate of Wofford College and a 2011 graduate of the Charlotte School of Law. In 2015, she received the Palmetto Center for Women Honors in Government and Law Enforcement. In 2016, she was a co-recipient of the title, “Prosecutor of the Year” from the Carolinas Chapter of the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators. In 2018, Mrs. Abee was named “20 under 40” from The State Newspaper. That same year, she also graduated from the South Carolina Bar’s Leadership Academy. In 2020, she was named “35 under 35” from Columbia Business Monthly Magazine. She is an active member of the South Carolina Bar, serving on the Children’s Law Committee and the Law Related Education Committee. She also serves as a coach for the University of South Carolina School of Law’s Mock Trial team.

In high school, Kinli was a member of the Varsity Cheerleading team, Clover Choraliers, and the Mock Trial team. She attributes her success as a lawyer today to all three of those groups. “Christy Cobb (cheerleading) taught me what it meant to put in hard work and focus on the details. Jay Forrest (Choraliers) taught me how to command a stage and perform, which is what I feel like I do every time I’m in the courtroom. Dodi Ballard (mock trial) taught me to have a passion for the law and for problem solving”. Kinli lives in Columbia with her husband, Matt, who she met in college, their three-year-old daughter, Charli, and their chocolate lab, Larry. She still visits Clover where her parents live. The Clover Schools Alumni Association is proud to highlight Kinli Bare Abee!