Find Lawyers in Columbia, South Carolina
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Sheila Willis is committed to finding practical, real world solutions to her clients’ employment law needs. She represents companies—large and small—as they navigate employment issues related to hiring, discipline, investigations, employment discrimination, unemployment, and other related issues. Sheila provides guidance to higher education institutions on Title IX Compliance and investigations She has extensive experience providing compliance advice to federal contractors o...
A special counsel at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, civil rights attorney Stuart Andrews brings determination and intensity to every case. He’s devoted decades to bringing about systemic reform and giving lower-income South Carolinians greater access to the courts, both through the clients he's represented and the policies he's helped put in place. Through his former practice at a large regional law firm, Stuart established the firm's first structured pro bono program. The effort earned...
Founding partner Keith M. Babcock grew up in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and has practiced law in South Carolina for almost 40 years. Now "of counsel" to Lewis Babcock, his practice has consisted almost exclusively of litigation, with a concentration on business disputes, eminent domain, and professional negligence. He has an outstanding reputation for representing real property owners in eminent domain actions, as well as other disputes. He is an emeritus member of Owners' Counsel of America , ...
Parker Barnes is an experienced litigator and shareholder in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office, where he focuses his practice on real property and business litigation, primarily on matters involving tax sales, real estate-related disputes, consumer financial services and commercial lending disputes.
Luther J. Battiste, III is a founding shareholder of Johnson, Toal & Battiste, P.A., and the past National President of the American Board of Trial Advocates 2020. He received his B.A. from the University of South Carolina (1971) and JD from Emory University School of Law (1974). In 1983, Luther entered the political arena and made history by becoming one of the first two African-Americans elected to Columbia City Council since Reconstruction. He served fifteen years as a member of the Co...
Grady focuses his practice on workers’ compensation, workers’ compensation mediation and appellate advocacy. He is a co-author of The Law of Workers’ Compensation Insurance in South Carolina, Sixth Edition, a comprehensive book analyzing this complex area of law. Grady is a Fellow in The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers and is a member of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network. He serves on the Board of the South Carolina Workers' Compensation...
Jamie Becker is an experienced financial services litigator and shareholder in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office. His practice focuses on complex business litigation in areas such as business and consumer financial services, business contracts, automobile sales and marketing, commercial and consumer real estate transactions, and real estate development.
Jody A. Bedenbaugh is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP who practices in Columbia in the areas of banking, creditors' rights, and bankruptcy. Mr. Bedenbaugh represents banks in connection with regulatory and compliance issues, vendor relationships and outsourcing, and transactional matters. He regularly serves as outside counsel to banks on a wide variety of matters relating to bank operations and its customer relationships, including issues relating to deposit accounts,...
Kevin's litigation practice involves class action defense and insurance disputes and his general litigation practice has included a wide variety of trial and appellate matters for the firm's clients from collapsed structures to medical malpractice and unfair trade practices. His insurance practice centers on life insurance and commercial liability/property insurance and has involved virtually every aspect of the business, with insurance products ranging from home service policies to complex a...
Elizabeth Black, an experienced litigator and shareholder in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office, focuses her practice on commercial litigation matters. She represents plaintiffs and defendants involved in breach of contract disputes, corporate governance actions, antitrust and competition-based issues, government licensing and public procurement disputes, and business tort matters.
John Boyd chairs Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Environmental Group and practices in the areas of environmental, regulatory, administrative and general corporate law in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Columbia office. John's environmental practice includes permitting, enforcement, due diligence and risk assessment, real estate transactions, environmental audits, voluntary cleanup contracts, brownfield redevelopment and traditional issues surrounding toxic substances, hazardous and solid wast...
A veteran attorney who's served Columbia for more than two decades, Bert focuses on helping small businesses in every stage of their life cycle, from creation to handing off to the next generation. His primary practice areas are business succession planning and estate planning, areas often tightly tied for small business owners. He can assist with all areas of business formation, including choice of entity planning; taxation of estates and trusts and business entities; and corporate law. He's...
C. Mitchell Brown is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP practicing in Columbia, principally in the areas of appellate law, business litigation, bad faith insurance defense, regulatory practice, and premises liability. He has also represented attorneys in disciplinary proceedings. He is the leader of the Firm's Appellate Practice Group.
A native of Columbia, Ben graduated from Woodberry Forest School in Virginia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was awarded the Robert McCormick Figg, Jr. Trial Advocacy Award and the Claud Sapp Award for scholarship, industry, and leadership. Ben also served as president of the USC School of Law Pro Bono Board while in law school and is currently a member of the Pro Bono Advisory Council. After...
John Bruton is a shareholder in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office. John is an experienced civil litigator with more than 40 years of experience and focuses his practice on insurance and construction cases, as well as commercial litigation and the defense of personal injury lawsuits.
Beth is tenacious and a rigorous thinker. Her practice focuses on business disputes of all kinds, in courtroom and arbitration settings, including FINRA. Beth’s clients include publicly traded and private companies and their officers and employees operating in a wide array of industries such as real estate development, insurance, energy and utility, restaurant and retail, financial investing, and health care. Beth’s litigation experience also includes trust and estate work, and ap...
A certified specialist in employment and labor law since 1993, M. Malissa Burnette has an extensive history of working toward workplace and social justice. She also has a wealth of experience in family law, personal injury, sexual harassment and discrimination law as well. She practices in state and federal courts, primarily representing individuals in complex employment cases involving discrimination, civil and constitutional rights, breach of contract, covenants to not compete, employment-r...
Mike Carrouth is a partner in the Columbia office. He is certified as a Specialist in Labor Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Mike has represented clients in successfully responding to union organizing efforts in 30 states. This work includes successfully defending against multi-site and multi-state national organizing blitzes and card-check/neutrality campaigns. Mike also has represented clients in numerous litigation matters, including jury trials, involving Family and Medical Leave ...
Mary Caskey is a Certified Bankruptcy and Debtor-Creditor Law Specialist and leads Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Recovery practice group. Mary represents national and regional banks, loan servicers and other financial service providers in a variety of issues including foreclosures, collections, adversary proceedings, workouts and loss mitigation, judgment collection and alleged violations of state and federal consumer law.
Joe Clark is a shareholder and experienced corporate attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office. Joe assists corporations, limited liability companies and other business associations. He also provides legal counsel to professionals, owners of closely held businesses, farmers, landowners and other families and individuals in developing practical strategies for transferring assets between generations using wills, trusts and family entities, as well as minimizing estate and gift taxes.
Suzi Clawson is a shareholder and corporate attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office, where she focuses her practice on advising corporate governance matters, including corporate governance documents, committee charters and governance principles, director and committee independence, related party transaction issues and fiduciary duties of directors. Suzi also has extensive experience representing both public and private issuers, while also advising public and private company clie...
Woody focuses his legal practice on a range of banking and commercial finance issues, with a concentration in Small Business Administration 7(A) and 504 lending. He also has worked extensively in work-outs, special assets litigation and debt restructuring. In addition to working to help close hundreds of SBA and SBA-related loans, Woody has represented two of South Carolina’s leading economic development lenders – Business Development Corporation and Certified Development Corporat...
A partner at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, Jack focuses on employment law, civil rights, appeals, and administrative law. A highly experienced litigator, he's successfully challenged agencies and policies, winning in trial and appellate courts as well as before state and federal government agencies. Jack battles tirelessly to remove barriers for clients. This includes seeking criminal record expungement and pardons, working to correct errors in criminal records, reinstating driver’s li...
A. Johnston Cox Johnston Cox is a shareholder at Gallivan White and Boyd, P.A. in the firm’s Columbia office. He received his B.A. Degree from Washington & Lee University in 1991 and his J.D. Degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1995.For the past 20 years, Johnston’s practice has focused on Insurance litigation, business litigation, commercial condemnation and personal injury matters. He has litigated cases in the areas listed above, including declarat...
Partner Matthew Cox heads the Columbia, South Carolina office of Smith Currie. He is Martindale-Hubbell AV rated among his peers, as well as the judiciary and has been practicing since 1999. Matthew focuses his practice in the areas of Construction Law, Commercial Law, and Government Contracts, with his emphasis in litigation and compliance. He represents a variety of private clientele in the construction industry from design professionals, to owners and developers, to general contractors and...
Cara Crotty is a partner who has defended employers in cases involving every aspect of the employment relationship, including claims such as sexual, racial, age, and disability harassment; discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, disability, and national origin; retaliation; and various other federal and state law claims. Cara Crotty also represents federal contractors covered by Executive Order 11246 in their affirmative action compliance obligations by assisting with Plan preparation ...
Gray T. Culbreath Gray Culbreath represents corporations, individuals and insurers in trials and appeals. For almost 30 years he has handled complex trials and appeals in federal and state courts across South Carolina. His career has taken Gray from Army courtrooms to every federal and state courthouse in South Carolina. His principal areas of practice include all types of complex commercial and class action litigation, including antitrust, product liability and mass tort as well as claims of...
Frank Cureton is a certified specialist in Taxation Law, as well as a shareholder in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office. He represents taxable entities and tax-exempt organizations in planning acquisitions, financing structures, mergers, spin-offs and dispositions. Frank works closely with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Public Finance team. His practice also includes estate planning and individual tax planning, particularly for owners of family businesses and professional practices as they ...
John E. Cuttino Cuttino is a Partner in GWB’s Columbia, South Carolina, office. He has 32 years of experience as a trial attorney in the state and federal courts of South Carolina. John has handled cases in 40 of South Carolina’s 46 counties, in all Divisions of U.S. District Court in South Carolina, and has tried more than 75 cases to verdict. His practice is focused on the litigation of a variety of matters including class actions, design and construction defects, toxic and mass...
Rick has more than 30 years' experience as a trial lawyer in a diverse practice that includes workers' compensation, personal injury, medical malpractice, securities fraud, probate disputes and more. He represents clients in commercial disputes, including judicial dissolution of businesses, minority shareholder oppression and accounting actions involving corporations, partnerships and family businesses. Additionally, he is a South Carolina Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Mediator. Born ...
Donny Dial is a tax attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office, where he works with many businesses in all areas of tax planning. He helps families with sophisticated techniques, such as leveraged gifts and family-limited partnerships that reduce estate taxes and the costs of probate.
Gus M. Dixon is a partner and practices in Columbia in the areas of securities law, corporate law, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing, special litigation and corporate investigations, and technology law. Mr. Dixon is a co-leader of the Firm's Mergers and Acquisitions Group and is the Chair of the Firm's Opinion Committee.
Dwight Drake is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Columbia where his practice focuses on government relations, legislative issues, and disputes involving government contracts. Maintaining an active litigation practice, Mr. Drake has argued before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the South Carolina Supreme Court.
Theodore DuBose, a shareholder and public finance attorney in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Columbia office, has more than 25 years of experience in counseling South Carolina governments in public finance and related matters. Theodore often represents political subdivisions, school districts, and the State of South Carolina as bond counsel for general obligation and revenue bonds, tax anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, installment-purchase financing, equipment lease-purchase contracts a...
William (Bill) Duda is certified as a specialist in Employment and Labor Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court and was included on the 2013 Best Lawyer list in both Employment Management and Litigation categories. Since 2000, Bill has been helping employers understand and comply with a broad range of employment laws, including Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, the FLSA, trade secret law, restrictive covenants and workers’ compensation. He regularly represents management in emplo...
Ian T. Duggan is a determined trial attorney and problem solver who works to help both plaintiffs and defendants resolve challenging legal matters. Whether a client faces general commercial litigation issues, a personal injury case, or criminal charges, Ian’s goal with every case is to maximize positive results.
David Dukes is a partner in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough's Columbia office, where he practices in the areas of business litigation, technology litigation, pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, patent litigation, securities litigation, and coordination of national litigation. He has served as President of two national lawyer organizations. David also served as Managing Partner of the Firm for over ten years and currently serves on the Executive Committee.
Bess DuRant is a litigator engaged in complex business disputes on both the trial and appellate level. Her practice includes corporate governance issues, bet-the-company litigation, shareholder disputes, derivative actions, along with other business torts and contractual disputes. Bess' practice also includes trust and estate litigation. Additionally, Bess focuses on Constitutional issues, Freedom of Information Act matters, and election disputes. Bess’ practice includes appellate work ...
Frank's practice is focused on utility-related regulation and litigation, with an emphasis on matters involving the electricity and telecommunications industries. He also has significant experience in a range of environmental law issues. His work in the utilities industry has included issues involving electricity, telephone, gas and water regulation before the South Carolina Public Service Commission, where he has appeared for 30 years. In the environmental field his experience includes resol...
A native of Turbeville, South Carolina, Joey attended The Citadel, where he received a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering in 1997. After graduation, Joey moved to Augusta, Georgia, to work as a Consulting Engineer with the engineering firm of Cranston Robertson & Whitehurst. In this position, Joey had the opportunity to observe and participate in designing various public and private construction projects while also earning his Engineer in Training Certification. After gaining invaluable exp...