1954

Judge G. Ross Anderson will receive honorary degrees from The Citadel and Charleston School of Law. Over the years, he’s given real-life training to young lawyers with his tough-love approach from the bench. He is one of the founding members of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association and a past member of the national board of governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

1959

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough attorney Edward W. Mullins, Jr. has been awarded the Lou Potter Award for lifetime professional achievement by the Defense Research and Trial Lawyer's Association (DRI). This is DRI's most prestigious award, and Mr. Mullins will become only the 13th lawyer in the country to receive this recognition. The award recognizes Mr. Mullins' leadership in the defense Bar and in the community at large. DRI is the national organization of more than 22,000 defense trial lawyers.

1963

S.C. Supreme Court Justice John H. Waller Jr., a Mullins native, has been named to the Charleston School of Law’s Board of Advisors. As a single practitioner in Mullins, Waller was elected five times to serve in the S.C. House of Representatives, including a term as House Majority Leader. Elected to the state Senate in 1976, Waller was elected by his legislative peers in 1980 to be a state circuit judge. He held that position until 1994 when he was elected to the state Supreme Court.

1968

Collins & Lacy, PC is pleased to announce that Joel W. Collins has been elected as a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers by its Board of Governors. The International Society of Barristers is an honor society with a membership limited to 600 outstanding trial lawyers elected by their peers. The Society is dedicated to excellence, integrity, and civility in advocacy, to the preservation of the adversary system and of the right to trial by jury, and to the encouragement of young lawyers to enter the field of trial practice. The Society has fellows in all fifty states and Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Mexico, and Scotland.

1973

Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte has been endorsed as the only SC member of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN). Sowell Gray’s Workers Compensation Team includes Ben Gibbs Leaphart.

1975

Austin & Rogers, PA announces the opening of its new office located at 505 Belle Hall Pkwy., Ste. 101, Mt. Pleasant 29464. The firm also announces that C.C. (Cotton) Harness III has joined the firm as Of Counsel in the Charleston office.

1976

Spartanburg native The Hon. Charles W. Jones will serve on the Charleston School of Law's Board of Advisors. Spartanburg Magistrate Charlie Jones practiced law with Whiteside, Smith, Jones and Duncan for 30 years before becoming a full-time magistrate in 2006.

1977

Kaye Hearn, the chief judge of the S.C. Court of Appeals who lives in Conway, is on track to be the newest member, and the second woman ever, elected to the S.C. Supreme Court.

Spartanburg litigator Gary W. Poliakoff will serve on the Charleston School of Law's Board of Advisors. Gary is a trial attorney with 31 years of experience and is certified in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

1982

Elizabeth Ferrell, has joined McKenna Long & Aldridge as a Washington-based partner in the government contracts practice. She focuses her practice on government contracts and complex litigation matters. Previously, Ferrell was a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and chairwoman of the government contracts practice.

Richardson Plowden & Robinson, P.A., is pleased to announce that Francis M. Mack has been selected to the 2009 South Carolina Super Lawyers. Mack is the managing shareholder of Richardson Plowden and focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation in the areas of construction, contract disputes, fidelity and surety law, and insurance defense matters. Mack is a certified arbitrator and listed in Best Lawyers in America for business litigation. He is a member of the American Bar Association, South Carolina Bar, Richland County Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorney’s Association, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

The Honorable Harriet O'Neill, Justice on the Supreme Court of Texas, will be the keynote speaker at Baylor Law School's commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2, at Waco Hall. Sixty-six students will receive juris doctor degrees. Justice O'Neill was elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1998 and re-elected to a second term in 2004. Her judicial career began in 1992, when she was elected to the 152nd District Court in Houston. In 1995, Gov. George W. Bush appointed her to the 14th Court of Appeals, and she won election to that seat in 1996. Justice O'Neill left the court of appeals with a 91 percent approval rating (1998 Houston Bar Poll), the highest rating on her nine-member court. Justice O'Neill graduated in 1982 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she was a member of the academic honors society and served as the law school representative to the American Bar Association. She returned in the spring of 2002 as the law school's "Jurist in Residence," and subsequently received the University of South Carolina Distinguished Alumnae Award.

1984

Florence native Ralph K. “Tripp” Anderson III was elected Chief Administrative Judge of the South Carolina Administrative Law Court by the S.C. General Assembly on Wednesday, May 13.

Nexsen Pruet attorney David Dubberly spoke at the 36th Annual South Carolina International Trade Conference in Charleston. Dubberly led a senimar entitled “International Contracting and Dispute Resolution.” Earlier this year, Dubberly was selected as the only South Carolina attorney for inclusion in Super Lawyers® Corporate Counsel Edition in the practice area of international law.

Richardson Plowden & Robinson, P.A., is pleased to announce that Franklin J. Smith, Jr. has been selected to the 2009 South Carolina Super Lawyers. Smith is a shareholder in the firm. He focuses his practice on construction law, including construction litigation, contract drafting and negotiation, claims resolution and avoidance, design professional malpractice, fidelity and surety law, coverage issues, and insurance defense. Smith is recognized in Best Lawyers in America for construction litigation. He is a member of the American Bar Association, South Carolina Bar, Richland County Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorney’s Association, and American Society of Civil Engineers.

Thomas C. Taylor announces the opening of the Law Office of Thomas C. Taylor, LLC located at 22 Bow Circle, Ste. A, Hilton Head Island 29928.

1985

Robert C. Byrd, of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, was named to the 2009 South Carolina Super Lawyers for business litigation.

J. Rene Josey of Florence has been named to the Charleston School of Law’s Board of Advisors. Josey, a former U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina, practices with Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney P.A., and has extensive trial experience focusing on trial and appellate litigation, primarily in the federal courts.

1986

President Obama, on May 5, 2009, announced his intent to nominate Inez Moore Tenenbaum as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Robert S. Adler as a new Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

1989

Luther C. "Luke" Kissam IV will take on his new position as executive vice president of the Louisiana-based Albemarle Corp., a global provider of specialty chemicals on June 1. It is believed to be the first time in the company's 15 years of operation that someone with local connections has reached such a top level corporate position. In his role, Kissam will oversee all aspects of the company's manufacturing, legal and administrative business matters. In addition, Kissam will oversee Albemarle's worldwide health, safety and environmental functions as well as the company's global efforts to drive continued operational efficiencies and productivity improvements.

1993

Paul Doolittle and Frederick “Fritz” Jekel, former Motley Rice LLC lawyers, announce the formation and opening of Jekel-Doolittle, LLC. Together, the two offer a combined 30 years of legal experience. They will focus on serious personal injury actions and trial work.

Piedmont Technical College President Dr. Ray Brooks has named Jim Klauber the college's senior vice president. Klauber came to Piedmont Tech in 2003 as executive assistant to the president following 10 years of service in the South Carolina General Assembly. In 2004, he was appointed associate vice president and in 2006, he became vice president for institutional advancement.

More than 450 graduates of Piedmont Technical College will receive certificates, diplomas and associate degrees during spring commencement exercises on May 21. Principal speaker for the event will be Reginald “Reggie” I. Lloyd, director of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Immediately preceding his current appointment on February 14, 2008, Lloyd served as the United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina. He served on the Circuit Court of South Carolina, which included time as the Chief Administrative Judge for both the Second and Fifth Circuits. He also served as the director of research and counsel for the House Judiciary Committee and as an assistant attorney general. His work in the private sector included service with Nexsen, Pruet, Jacobs & Pollard as well as Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough and AT&T.

1996

Northeastern Technical College will hold its 2009 Commencement Exercises at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 30, at Cheraw High School in Cheraw. Senator Vincent Sheheen, who represents Chesterfield, Kershaw and Lancaster Counties (Legislative District 27) in the South Carolina Senate, will be the commencement speaker. Sheheen, of Camden, has served in the Senate since 2004. Prior to being elected to the senate, he served for three years in the South Carolina House of Representatives. As a member of the Senate, he currently serves on the Agriculture and Natural Resources, Fish, Game and Forestry, General, Judiciary, and Transportation Committees.

1997

Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte has been endorsed as the only SC member of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN). Sowell Gray’s Workers Compensation Team includes Daniel W. Hayes.

Robert G. Rikard and Marion M. Moses announce the opening of Rikard & Moses, LLC located at 1803 Hampton St., Columbia 29201.

1998

Ellis R. Lesemann, of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, was named to the 2009 South Carolina Super Lawyers for business litigation.

2001

Michael Barfield has been named a member at Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms LLC. Previously, he was special counsel for the firm. His practice focuses on professional negligence, construction litigation, commercial litigation, property-related litigation and personal injury.

Krisdee Ann Schmale and Charles Cantzon Foster II were married February 21, 2009. He is the founding member of Foster Law Offices, LLC.

Julia Amanda Williams and Hunter Chase Harbin were married on February 28, 2009 at Trinity United Methodist Church in Greenville.

Robert G. Rikard and Marion M. Moses announce the opening of Rikard & Moses, LLC located at 1803 Hampton St., Columbia 29201.

2002

Jeff Long announces the opening of Jeffrey A. Long, PA located at 101 N. McDowell St., Ste. 220, Charlotte 28204.

2003

David J. Miller announces the opening of the Law Office of David J. Miller, LLC located at 4840 Forest Dr., Ste. 6-B, Columbia 29206-4810

2004

Kelsey Withers and William Thomas Bacon IV were united in marriage on April 18, 2009 at Governor Thomas Bennett House in Charleston, S.C. He is an attorney at McAngus Goudelock and Courie LLC.

Epting & Gillis, LLC announces that James M. Fennell has joined the firm as an associate located at 125 Executive Pointe Blvd., Columbia 29210.

2005

Rikard & Moses, LLC located at 1803 Hampton St., Columbia 29201 announces that Allyson M. Carbaugh has joined the firm.

Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham, PA announces that Meliah Bowers Jefferson has joined the firm as associate with the firm located at 44 E. Camperdown Way, Greenville 29601.

Willson Jones Carter & Baxley, PA announces that Richard W. Turner has joined the firm as associate located at 6701 Carmel Rd., Ste. 102, Charlotte 28226.

2006

Collins & Lacy, P.C. is pleased to announce that Anne Marie Hempy has joined the firm as an associate in the practice areas of Workers’ Compensation and Defense Litigation. While in law school, Anne Marie worked as a law clerk for Collins & Lacy and served as an Articles Editor for the South Carolina Law Review. Prior to joining Collins & Lacy, Anne Marie served as a law clerk for the Honorable G. Ross Anderson, Jr., and then worked as an associate at the firm of Turner, Padgett, Graham & Laney practicing in the area of Professional Liability Defense. Anne Marie is a member of the South Carolina Bar, Richland County Bar Association, and the South Carolina Defense Lawyers’ Association. She has been an active member of the Cinderella Project Committee for the South Carolina Bar Association and is currently a member of Leadership Columbia, Class of 2009.

Diane Summers Clarke II and William Taylor Carpentier Lacy, both of Charleston, were married May 16, 2009, in Charleston. A reception followed aboard the Innisfail Yacht. She is employed as a law clerk for the Honorable C. Weston Houck of the United States District Court in Charleston. He is employed as an attorney with Motley Rice, LLC, in Mount Pleasant.

2007

Diane Summers Clarke II and William Taylor Carpentier Lacy, both of Charleston, were married May 16, 2009, in Charleston. A reception followed aboard the Innisfail Yacht. She is employed as a law clerk for the Honorable C. Weston Houck of the United States District Court in Charleston. He is employed as an attorney with Motley Rice, LLC, in Mount Pleasant.

Willson Jones Carter & Baxley, PA announces that Neal A. Collins has joined the firm as associate located at 6701 Carmel Rd., Ste. 102, Charlotte 28226.

Erin Michele Hoke and Hugh Hammond DuBose III were married February 28, 2009. He is First Lieutenant in the US Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

The Bacon Law Firm announces that Sarah Elizabeth Whatley has joined the firm as an associate located at 1297 Professional Dr., Ste. 101., Myrtle Beach 29577.

2008

Rikard & Moses, LLC located at 1803 Hampton St., Columbia 29201 announces that Brian DeQuincey Newman has joined the firm.

State Rep. Bakari T. Sellers will address the graduates of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College during commencement exercises on Thursday, May 14. Sellers is the youngest state representative in the United States. At the age of 24, the Denmark Democrat is an attorney at the Strom Law Firm and represents District 90 in the South Carolina General Assembly.

IN MEMORIAM

James Wallace Rion, Jr. of Winnsboro, SC died in February 2009. He earned a Masters degree in Sociology from Kent State University and a law degree from USC School of Law in 1975. He was a member of the SC Bar Association. He was Legal Counsel for the SC Human Affairs Commission from 1979-1984; Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, from 1984-1992; and Legal Counsel, General Counsel, Program Manager III for the State of South Carolina, focusing on State Governement-related Telecommunication Act legal issues and 911 system matters.