In-house counsel to share thoughts at Lawyers Weekly Greenville breakfast
For many law firms, some of the most important relationships are those maintained with a client company’s in-house counsel. It’s often these in-house attorneys who decide when to retain outside...
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Famous rapper visits Charleston law library
Aspiring attorneys at the Charleston School of Law have learned to coexist with their library’s rowdy neighbor, the Music Farm – a legendary venue with a perpetually broken air-conditioning system and...
View ArticleMental health workers not public officials
State-employed mental health professionals who work in jails and prisons are exposed to some of the same occupational hazards as corrections officers, but a new appellate ruling gives guards greater...
View Article4th Circuit tackles statutory severance in juvenile murder case
A juvenile defendant facing charges of murder in aid of racketeering cannot be tried as an adult because the possible sentence would run afoul of recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the 4th U.S....
View ArticleSC’s poor often lack lawyer in court, study says
South Carolina’s court system for handling low-level criminal offenses is garnering attention from national civil rights groups—and not in a good way. A new report from the American Civil Liberties...
View ArticleCounties debate next move after MERS wins
Plan A has failed for five counties that hoped to move forward with consolidated lawsuits against the MERS Corp., which operates a massive mortgage registry database and whose shareholders include some...
View ArticleSupreme Court: Wal-Mart vicariously liable for contractor
The estate of a woman killed while speeding away from a security guard will have its day in court after a divided state Supreme Court held March 30 that there is evidence that could prove the...
View ArticleNo video, no affidavit? No problem
Lack of a drunken driving arrest video or an affidavit from the arresting officer explaining the absence of the recording led a post-conviction relief judge to toss a defendant’s DUI-related...
View ArticleSouth Carolina 2016 Largest Law Firms
1. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough (211 in 2015) Number of S.C. attorneys as of Jan. 1: 205 S.C. locations and number of attorneys: Columbia 121, Greenville 39, Charleston 32, Myrtle Beach 13...
View ArticleSC’s largest law firms: Some up, some down…but not that much
Despite some minor fluctuations in numbers and a newcomer to the rankings, the 2016 version of South Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s survey of the state’s largest 20 law firms looks remarkably like last...
View ArticleNew rule benefits military spouse attorneys
Courtney Fleck was on the verge of graduating law school at the University of Louisville when her husband came home with big news: He was being commissioned as an Army officer. It wasn’t long before he...
View ArticleSC Bar Exam: In-state, out-of-state schools dip slightly from last year
Results for February’s South Carolina bar exam were released April 22 and, as is typical for this round – July’s numerical little brother – there was some shift in pass rates from 2015. Overall, 56.18...
View ArticleCompany’s “screw-ups” no defense for late notice to insurer, 4th Circuit rules
A bank that found itself hit with a $98.5 million default judgment after the summons for a lawsuit lay unread for months on a departed employee’s desk will not be able to collect insurance coverage for...
View Article‘Rogue’ workers’ comp commissioner reappointed to third term
State lawmakers have reappointed the vice chair of the Workers’ Compensation Commission to a third six-year term, despite protests from several lawyers, ex-commissioners and a law professor who said...
View ArticleDisciplinary case offers warning to residential real estate lawyers
Fearing that attorneys are being used as a “rubber stamp” in residential real estate transactions, the South Carolina Supreme Court has issued an opinion that requires lawyers to play a larger role in...
View ArticleIdentifying a winner
A real estate agent who accepted an offer of judgment for five times less than what his opponent subsequently received to settle his counterclaims still qualifies as the prevailing party under the...
View Article4th Circuit establishes standard for arresting probationers
That which a district court judge called “murky” is crystal clear now, thanks to a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that establishes reasonable suspicion as the standard needed under the...
View ArticleLoan terms upheld in bankruptcy
For would-be homeowners struggling to secure a loan, seller financing can be an alternate route into a new house. Like a rent-to-own contract (and controversial precisely for that reason), the buyer...
View ArticleInstruction on victim testimony unconstitutional
Securing convictions in certain he said, she said sex crime prosecutions is going to be more of a challenge in the wake of a case that split the South Carolina Supreme Court and overruled long-standing...
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New law opens federal courts to trade secrets disputes
The world’s most famous trade secret, the vigilantly guarded recipe for Coca-Cola, is kept in a purpose-built vault in the company’s Atlanta headquarters. Most trade secrets, however, are kept on...
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