Fall 2004

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues,

Many people have a love-hate relationship with their cell phone. I certainly do. I thoroughly hate the thing when it goes off in my pocketbook at the movies or a concert. But I love my cell phone - or anyone else’s I can borrow - when I am running late, trying to find an obscure address, or both. I think I appreciate my cell phone most, though, when I am in trial. At that point, if I had to choose, I would trade all the Elmos, projectors, and laptops in the county for one cell phone with good juice. There isn’t a more convenient way to line up your witnesses. In my opinion, it is the most essential courtroom technology (even if you do use it in the hallway).

So if you, like me, would get a bit panicky if someone took your cell phone from you just before you walked into the courtroom, please take note. Sheriff Al Cannon and the security personnel at the Charleston County Judicial Center also have mixed feelings about cell phones, and they do not trust the ones with cameras in them. Anyone can cruise right through security at the Judicial Center with a bare-bones, camera-free cell phone. But if your cell phone has a camera in it, at this point in time you will be asked to take it outside the courthouse, back to your car or office. We can all understand the potential for problems if everyone in the courthouse had a camera on them. As Sheriff Cannon commented, the judges should be in charge of cameras in the courtroom, not the general public. And, it is true - we did get along just fine lining up witnesses and trying cases before cell phones came along. That being said, Sheriff Cannon is sympathetic to our plight. The Bar is working with him to provide some accommodation for unsuspecting lawyers who find themselves stripped of their cell phones when they need them most. Meanwhile, check out your cell phone carefully. One lawyer (and a fairly gadget-oriented one at that) recently told me he did not even know his new cell phone had a camera in it until courthouse security personnel pointed it out to him - just before he had to take it back to his car. So if you are unsure about your cell phone’s features, run by the courthouse and let security check it out for you. Or better yet, have a teenager do it. And don’t forget to apprise your star witness of these rules, lest he or she show up at the courtroom late or with feathers ruffled.

To offset this bit of technology angst, there is good news. We will soon be adding a great new feature to the Charleston County Bar website: the “Judge’s Benchbook for Civil and Criminal Jury Charges.” You will be able to download it and print whatever applies to your case. I hope it will be helpful to everyone as a research tool as well. Please note the disclaimer that the charges are merely suggestions and are not sanctioned nor approved by the Supreme Court. Many thanks to Judge Roger Young for getting permission from Chief Justice Toal to make the Charge Book available to us. Special thanks also to Judges Markley Dennis, James Brogdon, Henry Floyd and Gary Clary, and to Becky Hunter from the Supreme Court Staff Attorney’s Office for crafting the charges. Isn’t it grand? Sometimes you ask and you really score. Kudos to Mark Joye for the great idea.

Sincerely,

Carol

Shirrese B. Brockington, Renee C. Newman and Cynthia A. O’Dell, PC are pleased to announce the relocation of their law office to 764 St. Andrews Boulevard, Charleston, SC 29407. Tel. 571-5000; Fax. 852-9860.

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Finkel & Altman, LLCis pleased to announce that Elizabeth A. Shuffler has become an associate of the firm located at 3955 Faber Place Drive, Suite 105, North Charleston, SC 29405. Tel. 576-1072.

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Harvey, Casterline & Vallini, L.L.P. is pleased to announce that Jared D. Smith has joined the firm as an associate. Mr. Smith will practice out of the firm’s new Summerville office located at 114 West Dotty Avenue, Summerville, SC 29483. Tel. 821-8818, ext. 216; Fax. 821-8843; E-mail Jareds@hcvlaw.com. The firm’s website is www.hcvlaw.com.

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Moore & Van Allen, PLLC is pleased to announce that Elizabeth Sumner Gordon has joined the firm’s Charleston office located at 40 Calhoun Street, Suite 300, Charleston, SC 29402. Tel. 579-7000; E-mail elizabethgordon@mvalaw.com. Ms. Gordon will practice employment and litigation law.

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Nexsen Pruet, LLC is pleased to announce that Ashley Steele Nutley, a partner in the firm whose practice concentrates on economic development, real estate and lending, has transferred to the Charleston office and that Angelica “Lica” Colwell has joined the firm in its intellectual property practice.

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The Seibels Law Firm, P.A. is pleased to announce that Mark S. Mixson has joined the firm, located at 165-A King Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Tel. 722-6777; Fax. 722-6781; E-mail mmixson@seibelsfirm.com .

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Young Clement Rivers, LLP announces that the Hon. William L. Howard has joined the firm as special counsel and that Daphne A. Burns, J. Bennett Crites, III, and T. Douglas Concannon have become associates of the firm located at 28 Broad Street, Charleston, SC. Tel. 577-4000. Judge Howard will specialize in alternative dispute resolution and will also practice with the professional liability and special task litigation groups. Ms. Burns will practice with the employment and labor law group. Mr. Crites will practice with the trucking and transportation group. Mr. Concannon will practice with the administrative, regulatory and captive formations group.

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Office Space Available West Ashley: Centrally located at 764 St. Andrews Boulevard. Only minutes from downtown, with easy access to Sam Rittenberg Boulevard. (Hwy 7), Savannah Highway (US 17), and I-26 (via Cosgrove Avenue). Newly renovated building with well-structured floor plan. Includes two bathrooms, kitchenette, copy/fax area, conference/meeting room, reception area and high-speed Internet access. Space available for two professionals; two spaces available for support staff. Free parking. For further details, contact Renee C. Newman or Shirrese B. Brockington by phone at 571-5000 or via e-mail at renee.newman@scbar.org or shirrese.brockington@scbar.org.

YOU ARE INVITED

All members of the Charleston County Bar Association are invited to attend the unveiling of a portrait of Hannah R. Axelman, the first woman to practice law in Charleston. Mrs. Axelman was admitted to the South Carolina Bar on December 11, 1931. The ceremony will begin at 4:00 p.m. on November 9, 2004 in the Grand Courtroom on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse. Her portrait will hang in the library of the Historic Courthouse.

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UPCOMING CHARLESTON COUNTY BAR SEMINARS
(INCLUDING CIVILITY OATH)

On October 22, 2004 our third CLE is scheduled at the Charleston Maritime Center, with the topic being “Workers’ Compensation from the Claimant’s and Defense’s Perspective.”

Two additional CLE’s will be held during the month of December at the Charleston County Judicial Building. More information on the exact dates and topics of the last two seminars in December will be sent out in early December and posted on the website.

All of these CLE’s are free to paid members of the Charleston County Bar Association. Each of the seminars to be held this year will provide a one hour ethics seminar on professionalism and a judge will be present at the seminar to administer the new civility oath.

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NOTICE

The Charleston County Probate Court will begin maintaining a list of persons to serve as mediators in probate court matters. If you have experience as a mediator and are interested in being put on the Court's list, please contact the CCBA Probate Court Liaison Committee chair, Jean Lee, by telephone at 722-3366 or by e-mail at jlee@hsblawfirm.com.

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IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO ALL
CHARLESTON COUNTY BAR MEMBERS

Any attorney who has a change of address or contact information should do the following in the future: 1) go the Charleston County Bar Association Website: www.charlestonbar.org; 2) click on “Contact Us”; and 3) fill out the pertinent information. This will ensure that your information is changed on the website and also on our local Bar’s mailing list. Most of our mailings are sent via bulk mail. If the address that we have on record is not correct, the Post Office does not return it to us and we have no notification of a problem with the address.

In the future we plan to do mass e-mails to members of the Charleston County Bar when there is important information to relay to members in between newsletters. It is VERY IMPORTANT that your e-mail information is current. Please check out the information under “Lawyer’s Directory” to be sure that all of your information is correct. If you are not listed or have corrections to be made please follow the directions above or e-mail the information to Julie Kemp at jkemp@ycrlaw.com.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

The Charleston County Bar Association Annual Meeting and Oyster Roast/Barbecue will be held on February 24 at Alhambra Hall. Invitations will be sent out in late January. Please remember to include $75.00 for your 2005 Charleston County dues when you pay your South Carolina State Bar dues for 2005. (You will receive this notice in November). If you know of or have any new attorneys join your firm between now and January who have not previously joined the Charleston County Bar Association, please send Julie Kemp their names so that an invitation can be sent to them at that time. Please remember that your Charleston County Bar dues for 2005 have to be paid prior to the Annual Meeting. We do not send out a separate bill and appreciate each attorney paying through the South Carolina Bar.

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)

FEDERAL COURT JURY VERDICTS

(there were no federal court jury verdicts for this quarter)