Happel was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. He graduated from Wofford College in 2003 with a B.S. in Business Economics. After working in the construction industry for several years, he returned to school and received his Juris Doctor in 2008 from the University of South Carolina School of Law while earning a master’s degree in Earth and Environmental Resource Management.
Following law school, Happel moved to Charleston and joined the Hood Law Firm, LLC in 2008, primarily handling medical malpractice, product defect, government tort, and construction litigation matters. In 2014, Happel joined McAngus, Goudelock and Courie, LLC, working in the firm’s construction litigation practice group and handling general insurance defense litigation.
Happel joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, PA, in August of 2016 as an associate in the firm’s construction and civil litigation practice groups. As a partner, Happel handles multi-family, single family, and class action construction litigation. He is a proud member of the Charleston Bar and is admitted to practice in South Carolina, the United States District Court for South Carolina as well as the Fourth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals.
