Tushar V. Chikhliker

Tushar Chikhliker is a member of the firm’s Financial Services and Economic Development group, concentrating on economic development and public finance. 

Mr. Chikhliker has represented numerous companies and governmental entities regarding a myriad of state and local incentive arrangements including fee-in-lieu of tax agreements, special source revenue bonds and credits, multi-county business/industrial parks, jobs tax credits, job development credits, corporate headquarters and infrastructure tax credits, state and local grant programs, income tax exemptions, property tax exemptions, and sales and use tax exemptions. 

Mr. Chikhliker has also represented governmental issuers as well as companies in negotiating and implementing multiple financing vehicles including industrial revenue bonds, Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, and New Markets Tax Credit transactions.

He is also active in the South Carolina Economic Developers’ Association as well as the Committee of 100, a volunteer marketing group that promotes economic development in central South Carolina.

Awards & Community Involvement

Mr. Chikhliker was recognized as a South Carolina Super Lawyer - Rising Star in Bonds and Government Finance Law for 2012. The State also recognized Mr. Chikhliker's professional and community involvement by selecting him as one of the newspaper's "20 Under 40" for 2011.  He currently serves on the LeadershipNextSC Advisory Group and was a 2010 graduate of the Diversity Leaders Initiative, both of which have been established by the Riley Institute of Government, Politics, and Public Leadership at Furman University.  

In 2008, Mr. Chikhliker graduated from the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Columbia program, is currently a member of the Leadership Columbia Alumni Association, and has served on the Leadership Columbia Planning Committee.  He also has served on the Shandon Neighborhood Council. He has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Workshop Theatre of South Carolina and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Columbia Opportunity Resource. 

Firm Leadership

Mr. Chikhliker is Chair of the Firm’s Diversity Committee.  The committee works to recruit minority candidates, reduce minority attrition, and support minority organizations.  

Mr. Chikhliker is also the Chair of the firm’s Recruiting and Retention Committee, which is aimed at both recruiting and retaining attorneys.

Education

Mr. Chikhliker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from the University of South Carolina in 1999, graduating magna cum laude, with honors from the South Carolina Honors College. While at USC, Mr. Chikhliker received the prestigious Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, the highest honor awarded to a USC student, which celebrates excellence in leadership, academics, and community service.

Mr. Chikhliker received his Juris Doctor in 2002 from the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he served as Student Solicitor of the Honor Council and received the Outstanding Trial Advocacy Award presented by the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers.

• The State newspaper's 20 Under 40 List - 2011
• John Belton O'Neall Inn of Court
• Leadership Columbia
• Midlands Diversity Leaders Initiative - Riley Institute
• South Carolina Super Lawyer - Rising Star in Bonds and Government Finance Law (2012)

• "Alternative energy ventures face financing challenge"
  Nexsen Pruet attorney Tushar Chikhliker provides insight on alternative energy tax incentives in an article from The Columbia Regional Business Report.
• Attorneys Recognized By Peers; Twenty-Four Named to 2012 Super Lawyers® List for South Carolina
  Nexsen Pruet is pleased to announce that twenty-four attorneys have been listed in the 2012 edition of South Carolina Super Lawyers®.
• Chikhliker Named to Newspaper’s “20 Under 40” List
  In announcing the list on January 24th, The State wrote that its 8th annual class is “working diligently today to make the region a better place and offer hope of a brighter future for South Carolina.”
• Chikhliker Named “Emerging Legal Leader” Finalist
  Nexsen Pruet is pleased to announce that Tushar Chikhliker has been named an “Emerging Legal Leader” finalist by South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
• "The Riley Institute at Furman announces Midlands Diversity Leaders Initiative Class III Graduates"
  Nexsen Pruet congratulates member (partner) Tushar Chikhliker on his completion of the Midlands Diversity Leaders Initiative.
• Nexsen Pruet Awards Diversity Scholarships
  Nexsen Pruet is pleased to announce that the firm has awarded law school scholarships to three minority students from North and South Carolina. The awards are made possible through the Nexsen Pruet Diversity Scholarship Program.
• Tushar Chikhliker Participates in Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative
  The class is made up of forty Midlands-area leaders who are selected from four sectors of the community: corporate, governmental, non-profit and faith-based.
• Nexsen Pruet Elects Three New Members
  Nexsen Pruet announced today that Tushar Chikhliker, Suzi Grigg and Ernie Pearson have been elected Members (partners) of the firm.
• Nexsen Pruet Earns Designation as 'Midlands Green Business'
  Nexsen Pruet has earned designation as a Midlands Green Business, joining other Columbia-area organizations that are committed to environmentally responsible practices in the workplace.
• Nexsen Pruet: Only Law Firm Listed for North and South Carolina in "Trade Allies" Directory
  The new edition of Southern Business & Development magazine features the "1st Annual Trade Allies Directory." Nexsen Pruet is the only law firm listed in both North and South Carolina.
• Nexsen Pruet Named Among Top Economic Development Law Firms in the Southeast
  Southern Business & Development magazine has named Nexsen Pruet one of the top law firms for economic development in the South – and the only one recognized in South Carolina.
• Video Produced for Innoventure 2008
  Learn more about Nexsen Pruet from our video for InnoVenture - a conference bringing together entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
• Tushar Chikhliker Accepted To Leadership Columbia
  Tushar Chikhliker, an associate in Nexsen Pruet’s Columbia office, has been accepted to the 2007 – 2008 class of Leadership Columbia, a program sponsored by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.
• Tushar Chikhliker To Serve on the Board of Trustees of the Workshop Theatre of South Carolina
  Tushar Chikhliker, an associate in Nexsen Pruet’s Columbia office, has been selected to serve on the board of trustees of the Workshop Theatre of South Carolina.

• State Economic Development Incentives for the Agribusiness Industry
  Nexsen Pruet and the Palmetto AgriBusiness Council hosted a State and Economic Development Incentives Seminar for the Agribusiness Industry on Friday, November 2nd in Columbia.
• Fee-in-Lieu of Tax ("FILOT") and Spec Industrial Parks
  On June 8, Tushar Chikhliker presented this information at the Economic Development Seminar held at Nexsen Pruet's Columbia office.
• Economic Development Newbie Seminar
• SC Economic Development - Multi-County Industrial or Business Parks
• SC Economic Development - Property Tax Issues When a Manufacturing Facility is Sold at a Deep Discount
• Top 10 Law Firms that Understand Economic Development
  Nexsen Pruet is named among the top law firms in the Southeast for economic development - and is the only law firm listed in South Carolina.

• "South Carolina’s Job Search: A Look at Business Incentive Programs"
• Economic Development Seminar
• Project Finance Seminar
• 2010 Southeast/Southwest People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference