The Coleman Karesh Reading Room is an airy two-story space intended for quiet study. When it is time to take a break, there are two doors leading to a terrace that overlooks the lush courtyard. Twelve portraits of prominent figures from South Carolina’s legal history, including Karesh, hang on the south wall.
The room is named in honor of one of the most esteemed professors in the law school’s 150-plus year history. Karesh, who earned undergraduate and law degrees from Carolina in 1923 and 1925, respectively, practiced law in Columbia for 12 years before joining the law faculty in 1937. Over the next 35 years, he established himself as a nationally regarded expert on wills, trusts, and estates. Upon his retirement in 1972, the library in the then-new School of Law building on Main Street was named for him.