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John Edwards is courting a comeback
John Edwards went from being a golden boy trial attorney to a U.S. senator and presidential contender to one of the most hated men in America. It was a saga that played out on the big screen of...
View ArticleBar Discipline Roundup: N. Charleston attorney disbarred, one reprimanded
Attorney: Robert Paul Taylor Location: North Charleston Bar membership: Member since 2002 Disciplinary action: Disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court July 30 Background: One of Taylor’s clients...
View ArticleTalking about stress the best next step
We all know that being an attorney is a stressful profession. The South Carolina Bar believes that attorneys could know more about how to manage those stresses. In response to a proposal from the bar,...
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A little more time: S.C. high court clarifies rules about expert witness...
Plaintiffs bringing medical malpractice lawsuits in South Carolina got a little more time—and a lot more clarity about the state’s tort reform laws—after two recent decisions handed down by the state’s...
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Sheriff expected to appeal $1.6M verdict
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott is looking to take the sting out of a $1.6 million verdict in a malicious prosecution and abuse of process lawsuit alleging that he allowed one of his deputies to...
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Egg-in-bucket routine helps win $600K verdict
An egg, a bucket and a dash of showmanship helped a Columbia personal injury lawyer achieve a $600,000 jury verdict in a case that easily could have gone the other way. Robert Goings had two...
View ArticleLawyers on the move
Associate Dean of Students Abby Edwards Saunders is resigning from the Charleston School of Law effective August 15 to pursue a master’s degree in tax law from New York University, President and Dean...
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Retired justice trades interpreting Constitution for rewriting it
“Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution” By John Paul Stevens Little, Brown and Co., 2014 192 pages; $23 No matter how exalted a U.S. Supreme Court justice may be, you’re still...
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Dicey proposition: Should juveniles have jury trials?
A fracture has developed in the South Carolina Supreme Court’s once solid stance against juvenile jury trials. In July, the court’s five justices held that underage defendants are not entitled to be...
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Common knowledge exception still applies in med-mal cases, court says
Following up on a series of decisions last month interpreting the state’s tort reform laws, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Aug. 6 that plaintiffs suing for medical malpractice don’t have to...
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Ethics & Professionalism: The cover-up is always worse than the crime
This month marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s resignation over the Watergate scandal. Besides producing a new president, the scandal produced a famous maxim for attorneys to heed:...
View ArticleBar Discipline Roundup: Magistrate reprimanded
Magistrate: George T. Ferguson Location: Abbeville County Bar Membership: Not a member of the bar Disciplinary action: Publicly reprimanded by the Supreme Court on Aug. 6 Background: Ferguson pleaded...
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Score settled: 4th Circuit rules in collection agency case
Raleigh-based debt collection agency Optimum Outcomes experienced less-than-optimum results after losing its 4th Circuit fight with a debtor who scored a jury verdict worth more than $37,000. The 4th...
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Lawyers on the move
Hutchens Law Firm has opened a new office in Columbia, led by managing attorney John Kay and practicing attorneys John Kelchner and Ashley Z. Stanley. Lee Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart...
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Trust now may be needed to protect inherited IRA
RICHMOND — Estate-planning lawyers are contacting clients about a big change in the law when it comes to protecting retirement funds meant to pass by inheritance. Until recently, clients who had...
View ArticleMcNair responds to malpractice suit
The McNair Law Firm has responded to a legal malpractice lawsuit alleging that a real estate attorney at the firm tricked five elderly sisters into losing beachfront land that had been in their family...
View ArticleBar Discipline Roundup
Attorney: Alma C. Defillo Location: Jacksonville, Fla. Bar membership: Member of Florida bar not licensed to practice law in South Carolina. Disciplinary action: Permanently debarred from seeking any...
View ArticleNo PACER data dump for 4th Circuit
PACER users looking for 4th Circuit cases don’t need to worry about losing court records, according to Patricia S. Connor, Clerk of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “We are not affected,” Connor...
View ArticleNew rules for schools
Law schools are sizing up recent changes to American Bar Association accreditation standards Changes are coming down the American Bar Association pipeline but South Carolina’s law school leaders say...
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S.C. Supreme Court: Insurance step-down provision violates public policy
Auto insurance companies violate South Carolina’s public policy if they try to reduce liability coverage for accidents where the injured party is a family member of the insured, and such limitations in...
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