With Tropical Depression Mindy possibly affecting South Carolina and Georgia, don't forget to consider joining the SC Bar Young Lawyers Division to prepare for disaster-related legal assistance.
The YLD operates a hotline for SC residents after a Presidential declaration of a major disaster and is now seeking lawyers (of all ages and experience levels) willing to assist hotline callers by providing answers to basic FEMA and disaster-related questions. Sign up here.
Trial & Appellate Advocacy Section Award
The Trial and Appellate Advocacy section is seeking nominations for its award to a lawyer who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to the trial and appellate advocacy legal profession. The deadline to submit nominations is Nov. 1, 2021. For award criteria, guidelines and additional information, visit the SC Barwebsiteor email Kim Loomstrom.
Palmetto Pro Bono Partner Series
Today’s Palmetto Pro Bono Partner spotlight highlightsRoot & Rebound, which works to restore resources to the families and communities most impacted by incarceration.
“Our pro bono work empowers and impacts those lives that need help the most,” says Vanessa A. Richardson, managing partner of VAR Law Firm, LLC in Pawleys Island. “My partnership with Root & Rebound and the SC Bar Pro Bono Program has reaffirmed that giving back is not about benefiting us, but rather for the benefit of our communities.”
Root & Rebound looks to compassionate volunteer attorneys like Vanessa to represent clients in legal matters directly related to their system-involvement. This includes but is not limited to legal areas such as public benefits, housing, employment, court-ordered debt, divorce, child custody/visitation, parole and probation, and expungements. If you’re interested in legal education initiatives, you can volunteer with the organization’s Free Reentry Legal Clinics.
If you would like to further Root & Rebound’s mission, contact Alesia Rico Flores, South Carolina Director of Policy and Systems Change, ataricoflores@rootandrebound.orgor Root & Rebound’s South Carolina team atsouthcarolina@rootandrebound.org. Get involved with the SC Bar's pro bono partners to advance access to justice in the Palmetto State.
Lawyers Helping Lawyers is here for you
Remember that the SC Bar’sLawyers Helping Lawyersprogram is here when you need it. The service is available to assist lawyers who are experiencing depression, anxiety, and/or substance use disorders. Our Lawyers Helping Lawyers team can help you decide the best options for treatment and healing. Reach Robert Turnbull at 803-603-3807 (cell) orrturnbull@scbar.org and Beth Padgett at 803-240-6526 (cell) or bpadgett@scbar.org.
Learn more about how the Lawyers Helping Lawyers program has recently expanded to reach more members and jumpstart important conversations in this September SC Lawyer column by SC Bar Executive Director David M. Ross.
All SC Bar members have access to up to five free counseling sessions a year with the option for telehealth available. Attorneys may call 1-855-321-4384, 24 hours a day/seven days a week for a brief assessment and referral to a counselor in your area. The counselors providing these services are credentialed and trained to understand issues related to the legal profession. All Lawyers Helping Lawyers services are strictly confidential.
Please practice good self-care, watch out for your colleagues, and don't hesitate to call should you need support.
Join the Leadership Academy
It's not too late to apply for the SC Bar Leadership Academyclass of 2022. The program is designed to equip members in practice from three to 15 years with networking opportunities, professionalism training, community awareness, and other skills necessary to give back to the profession and position themselves as leaders in the community.
Submit an applicationand supporting documents by 5 p.m. on Sept. 17. For more information, contact Kimberly Snipes at (803) 576-3835 or ksnipes@scbar.org. Please note, for any in-person meetings at SC Bar facilities, COVID protocols such as masks and social distancing will be observed.
Member benefit: ID card
Did you know as a South Carolina Bar member you can receive a free photo ID card? You can email your photo toJuliana Sobey. Please make sure it is a clear headshot in a jpeg format. Your first photo ID card is free, and replacement cards are $10.
Upcoming live offerings
Look ahead to these useful September and October programs.
This special, October 15, half-day seminar features three lively panel discussions on the present and future of business torts and e-discovery. The event also includes the debut of South Carolina Business Torts by Cory E. Manning. If you litigate business torts or represent any size business in South Carolina, check out this program and publication.
Want more CLE? These newly released recorded on-demand courses are a convenient way for you to fully meet the 2021-2022 MCLE requirements. Explore these programs:
The question presented in this case is whether South Carolina law permits issues relating to child custody and visitation to be submitted to binding arbitration with no oversight by the family court and no right of review by an appellate tribunal. The Court decided that the family court cannot delegate its authority to determine the best interests of the children based on the parens patriae doctrine and affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals vacating the arbitration award and the underlying orders approving the parties' right to arbitrate issues involving their children.
To the extent that the court of appeals' opinion in this case suggests the ADR rules do not prohibit arbitration of children's issues, the Court modified that portion accordingly.
Singh v. Singh, Op. No. 28057 (S.C. Sup. Ct. filed September 8, 20121) (Howard Adv. Sh. No. 31 at 23) is available online.
Court of Appeals Opinions
In this appeal arising from the circuit court’s order granting the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission's (the Commission's) motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure, the court affirmed. The court found that (1) because section 15-78-60(12) does not apply to this case, the circuit court did not err in failing to extend the gross negligence standard to the exceptions that did apply and (2) because KCC did not allege a constitutional violation of due process in its complaint and the circuit court was limited to allegations as contained in the complaint, the circuit court did not err in granting the Commission's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.
Kelaher, Connell & Conner, P.C. v. SC Workers’ Compensation Commission, Op. No. 5860 (S.C. Ct. App. filed September 8, 2021) (Howard Adv. Sh. No. 31 at 33) is available online. In this appeal arising from Appellant’s convictions for first-degree arson and conspiracy, the court reversed and remanded for a new trial. The court held Appellant’s statement was coerced by law enforcement's misrepresentations and deceptive tactics, including a promise that his statement would not leave the room, conveying it would not be used against him.
State v. Collins, Op. No. 5861 (S.C. Ct. App. filed September 8, 2021) (Howard Adv. Sh. No. 31 at 39) is available online.
Announcements
Firm & hiring announcements
Dority & Manning, P.A. is pleased to announce Stephen Brown, Wes Griffith, Peyton Guest, and Lillian Fant have joined the firm as associates located at 75 Beattie Place, Ste. 1100, Greenville, 29601.
Lawyer discipline
Byorder of September 7, the Court suspended David Mark Foster from the practice of law in this state.
By order of September 8, the Court suspended Richard Alexander Murdaugh from the practice of law in this state.
Upcoming Events
September 13
Administrative & Regulatory Law Committee September 14
Wellness Committee September 17
Elder Law Committee
Got an Announcement? Email Jamie Metz at jamie.metz@scbar.org
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