Fall 2003

Fall, 2003       Website: http://www.charlestonbar.org

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues:

As we move into the fall, I'm sure we're all thankful we were lucky to avoid the hand of Hurricane Isabel. Unfortunately, our neighbors to the north were not as lucky. As I prepare this letter, there are still many hundreds of thousands of people without power and many who lost their homes. I am sure that you will all want to join me in wishing all of them a speedy recovery.

There are many things to report on. Please remember this newsletter is also available on line at www.charlestonbar.org and you also can obtain other great information there.

Ruth Cupp is working diligently with John Compton to prepare a history of the Charleston County Bar. John Compton has solicited many of you to purchase space to provide information about yourselves and your firm in that book. Remember that the Bar receives a percentage of the proceeds of the sale of the books and the pages you may reserve for information abut yourself and your firm, so I encourage you to participate. This will be an excellent history of the Bar.

As you may recall, the Bar Executive Committee passed a resolution in the spring acknowledging the great work of Jerry Kaynard and the other long serving members of the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program. You can now find the text of that resolution on the website. To Jerry, and to all those Bar members who served on the Board of Directors for all those years, we thank you. The Neighborhood Legal Assistance Program has been replaced by the South Carolina Centers for Equal Justice. There is a letter from J. Edwin McDonald of that organization on the Bar website which explains its efforts to work with the Bar in providing services to its clients. Please review that for any suggestions for improving the plan and for information on how to work with that organization.

The Executive Committee has a group working with the Charleston County Sheriff's office and the Clerk of Court in an effort to resolve some ongoing issues about access by Bar members to the Courthouse and security. Please send your comments to Frank McCann.

Finally, through the leadership efforts of Bar member John Kern, the Habitat for Humanity house being sponsored by the Bar is underway. It is to be located in Rosemont in the neck area of the peninsula. John will be contacting various firms to get commitments to work weekends on the house. Please contact John directly at 937-0110 or via email at jbk@tenstate.com if you would like to work on the house. To John we all say thanks.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your President.

Sincerely,

Mark C. Tanenbaum

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Robertson & Hollingsworth is pleased to announce the expansion of its practice to include admiralty, maritime and transportation law, and that David B. Marvel has become associated with firm. Mr. Marvel was formerly associated with and has acquired the practice assets of Maritime Legal Resources, P.C.

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Office Space for Rent: Office space for one attorney and one support staff on Church Street. Call David Whittington at 723-4500.

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Law Office for Rent: 129 Broad Street, two blocks from Courthouse. Space for three to four attorneys plus staff. Off street parking. Approximately 2400 square feet. Call fabrilaw@aol.com

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Office Space for Rent: Broad Street near Courthouse. Suite 1500 square feet. Space for two attorneys and support staff. Equipment/file room/kitchen. Conference room overlooks Charleston Harbor. Call Margaret Fabri at 723-4928 or e-mail fabrilaw@aol.com

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Office space for rent at the "West Ashley Law Corner." Beautifully renovated old colonial home converted to an office. $750 per month includes receptionist, fax, copier, parking, shared conference room/kitchen, and all utilities except phone lines (although Lucent phone system is in place). Additional space available for a secretary/associate for an additional sum. Contact Sandy Senn or Missi Kinard at 556-4045.

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REMINDER

Each of you will be receiving your 2004 South Carolina Bar dues notice shortly. Please remember to pay your Charleston County Bar dues along with your state dues. Charleston County Bar dues will remain at $75.00 a year. Yearly dues notices are not sent out by the Charleston County Bar Association but have to be paid before the annual meeting on February 24, at Alhambra Hall. Invitations to the annual meeting and oyster roast/barbecue will be sent out in January.

**MARK YOUR CALENDARS**

FAMILY LAW SEMINAR TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 21, 2003
BOWEN'S ISLAND SEAFOOD

The CLE has been approved for three hours of credit, of which one hour is ethics. Registration begins at 12:30 p.m., with the program starting at 1:00 p.m. and lasting until 4:15 p.m. Following the program there will be an oyster roast. The cost will be $20-30 (we have not set it yet). You do not have to attend the oyster roast to attend the CLE.

Topics to be Covered

People interested in attending the CLE should call or e-mail Natalie Bluestein at 769-0311 or natalie.bluestein@scbar.org. You will need to provide your South Carolina Bar number to register.

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PART-TIME GENERAL COUNSEL FOR THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND VOTER REGISTRATION OF CHARLESTON COUNTY

The Board of Elections and Voter Registration of Charleston County is seeking a highly qualified lawyer to serve as its part-time General Counsel. Applicant must be a member in good standing of the South Carolina Bar and be prepared to advise the Board on matters regarding the management and conduct of all aspects of elections, voter registration, public meetings, employee relations, and parliamentary procedure. Knowledge of state and federal election law, constitutional law, employment law, and the Freedom of Information Act is required, along with experience with local government administration. Strong litigation and appellate advocacy skills and managerial experience are preferred. Send resume to P.O. Box 30937, Charleston, SC 29417-0937 by October 30, 2003.

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PORTIA STEPS UP TO THE BAR, FIRST SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN LAWYERS

Portia Steps up to the Bar, First South Carolina Women Lawyers is an account of the professional biographies of 128 women lawyers admitted to the Bar of this state. The book will be published November 10, 2003. It has sixty-five photographs and was written by Ruth W. Cupp of the Charleston Bar.

Advance copies may be ordered at 1-800-948-2786. After publication, orders may be placed at the same phone number, your favorite bookstore, or at Amazon.com for a cost of $24.95.

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF LAW CALLS FOR COMPLEAT LAWYER NOMINATIONS

Each year the USC School of Law Alumni Association recognizes nine outstanding alumni at the Alumni Association Dinner and Celebration. The Alumni Association is calling for nominations of individuals who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and exemplify the highest standards of professional competence, ethics and integrity. Current Law School Alumni Association board members and members of the judiciary are not eligible for the award. Nominations must be submitted by January 14, 2004 to Dean Frank Moon. The nomination form is available online at: >http://www.law.sc.edu/development/awards/Nomination-Form.dot. Past Compleat Lawyer Award recipients can be found online at: http://www.law.sc.edu/development/awards/compleatrecipients.htm. The USC School of Law homepage is: http://www.law.sc.edu. Questions can be directed to Cyndi Nickerson at (803) 777-6618 or nickerson@law.sc.edu.

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ATTENTION ALL ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING CLIENTS INCARCERATED AT THE CHARLESTON COUNTY DETENTION CENTER

Dear Bar Members:

Please be advised that the Charleston County Detention Facility has implemented a telephone recording and monitoring system, in the interest of facility security, such that all telephone calls made on inmate accessible telephones are subject to being monitored and recorded. Although attorneys' calls are privileged, in order that attorney-client calls not be monitored and/or recorded, attorneys must forward to the facility written notice of their request for exemption from the recording system. This notice must include the following: the attorney's name; the attorney's bar number; and, all telephone numbers for which the attorney desires exemption. With such written notice, the facility will immediately remove the attorney's number(s) from the recording and monitoring system.

Jerry N. Theos, Chairman
Charleston County General Sessions Liaison Committee

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LEGAL SPANISH INTERPRETING AND TRANSLATIONS

INCOURT, Interpreting and Translation Services, offers professional interpreting for depositions, court hearings, attorney-client interviews, and other legal proceedings. Luna B. Gainer is a Spanish interpreter certified by the National Center for State Court with a Masters Degree in bilingual interpreting from the University of Charleston, South Carolina. Ms. Gainer has interpreting experience with workers' compensation cases, family law, civil litigation, and criminal proceedings. Her services also include professional translation of legal documents such as birth and marriage certificates, affidavits, and legal contracts. You can contact Ms. Gainer by telephone at (843) 270-5588 or via email at spanishincourt@comcast.net. (In the last edition of the newsletter the e-mail address was listed incorrectly.)

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TRIAL PRESENTATION AND DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE

Rosen Litigation Technology Consulting offers state of the art exhibit management and presentation systems for trial, mediation, arbitration and settlement hearing proceedings. Alex Rosen has over 800 hours of courtroom experience running presentation systems and ten years of experience in multimedia production. Services also include demonstrative graphic design, forensic animations, document database consulting and transcript synchronized depositions. Mr. Rosen may be contacted by telephone at (843) 296-4648, via email at arosen@rosenltc.com or visit http://www.rosenltc.com.

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TRI-COUNTY PARALEGAL ASSOCIATION JOB BANK

If you would like to list your open legal assistant/paralegal positions with the TCPA Job Bank, please contact Dana Stoia, CLA at: Young, Clement, Rivers & Tisdale, LLP, Post Office Box 993, Charleston, SC 29402. Tel. 724-6641; Fax. 579-1382; e-mail das@ycrt.com

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HIRE A COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON STUDENT

The Office of Career Services at the College of Charleston can connect local legal firms with qualified student workers. By posting a part-time position through the Office of Career Services, employers can advertise their job opportunities to thousands of College of Charleston students. College students can serve in a variety of part-time positions, such as file clerk, runner and receptionist.

Employers can post their positions on the College of Charleston's job search website, http://cisternonline.erecruiting.com/er/security/login.jsp, at no charge. For more information, contact the office of Career Services by phone at 953-5692. Faxes will also be accepted. Please fax a job description to 953-6341. Be sure to include information: firm name, contact person, phone number, duties, hours and salary. Also be sure to note how the student should apply and any specific qualifications requested.

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CIRCUIT COURT SCHEDULE - NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

(Court schedules are changing constantly; please verify current information through S.C. Court Administration or by checking the South Carolina Judicial Department website at http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/calendar/index.cfm)

CIRCUIT COURT SCHEDULE - FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

FAMILY COURT SCHEDULE - NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

FAMILY COURT SCHEDULE - FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

CHARLESTON COUNTY COMMON PLEAS JURY VERDICTS

(information supplied by Clerk of Court’s Office)

00-CP-10-4766 Nathan Cuttino vs. Thomas Barton Snyder

Attorneys: Plaintiff: Julian Z. Hanna

Defendant: Thomas H. Milligan

Cause of Action: Auto Accident

Verdict: For the Plaintiff in the amount of $34,000.00 actual damages.

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01-CP-10-1347 Jane B. Locke, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Lynwood D. Locke vs. Lashawnda Davis

Attorneys: Plaintiff: Reese I. Joye

Defendant: Kevin P. Tierney

Cause of Action: Auto Accident

Verdict: For the Plaintiff individually in the amount of $12,500.00 actual damages, after a set-off in the amount of $2,500.00; for the Plaintiff as Personal Representative of the Estate of Lynwood D. Locke in the amount of $42,500.00 actual damages, after a set-off in the amount of $2,500.00.

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01-CP-10-1766 Vera K. Ball vs. Norton Builders, Inc. and Christopher C. "Kit" Norton

Attorneys: Plaintiff: Robert T. Lyles, Jr.

Defendants: James E. Lady

Cause of Action: Breach of Contract

Verdict: For the Plaintiff in the amount of $410,000.00 actual damages and $90,000.00 punitive damages.

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01-CP-10-2152 Patricia A. McGuire vs. Mary Lee Simmons

Attorneys: Plaintiff: Jennifer Barber

Defendant: John D. Harrell

Cause of Action: Auto Accident

Verdict: For the Plaintiff in the amount of $201.40 actual damages.

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FEDERAL COURT JURY VERDICTS

(There were no Federal Court Jury Verdicts for this quarter)