WINTER 2006

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear fellow members of the Charleston County Bar:

I guess it was Blanche Dubois in Streetcar who immortalized the phrase "the kindness of strangers."

Tennessee Williams understood intolerance, experienced failure and success, and despite his unique theatric voice, the pathos of his own life enriched his work and eventually wore him out. In the late 1970's he visited Charleston for the premier of a new play performed at the Dock Street Theatre. He spoke briefly before the performance in his wonderful Missouri murmur, himself a character as much as an author.

"The kindness of strangers" is a phrase that we as lawyers can embrace. After all, most of what we do each day after we open up, read the mail, and turn on the phones, is to interact with others, usually faceless strangers who, for one reason or another, are important to our clients and to our practice. I suppose as a profession it is there, in those conversations, that we develop our reputation. The pressure of the particular case before us or the demands of everything happening at once can smother our best intentions as we march forward with passion and enthusiasm. But in the end, when the phones stop ringing, the office empties out, and we reflect upon the workday, probably some success has been because of the kindness of strangers.

As I see the numbers of our profession swell with new law school graduates, I wonder if there is room enough for another lawyer or two in Charleston. Are we jealous of our client base and fearful that 2,000 plus lawyers in Charleston will dilute the client pool and force young beginning lawyers to prostrate themselves on the altar of advertising? Will reputation be developed in a vacuum separate from interaction with others and cast in the dye of image rather than dialogue and interaction? Hopefully, our legacy will protect us and isolate those who depend on image rather than reputation.

The phrase about the kindness of strangers also brings to mind the good fortune I personally received when I was accepted to the law school at the University of South Carolina. I had lost my way, was working at the State hospital during the day and tending bar at night at the Purple Onion on Pickens Hill in Columbia. Someone in the law school admitting office put my application in the short pile and allowed me to attend law school at Carolina. For that kindness I am forever indebted to the law school.

In this, my last letter to the membership, I suggest that we reflect upon our own good fortune as lawyers and remember the invitation we received to sign the book at the Supreme Court on the day we were admitted to the South Carolina Bar. Perhaps we should remind ourselves often of the honor and privilege that we enjoy as members of the South Carolina Bar.

Over the next few months, the law school at USC will embark on a long over-due building campaign to replace the physical plant where most of us learned the law (I know a few of you rightly have fond memories of the Petigru Building). Please remember our duty to help pass the baton to the next generation of South Carolinians who will benefit as we did by the kindness of USC and the South Carolina Bar.

Sincerely,
Francis X. McCann

P.S. Our annual meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 9, 2006, at the Charleston Place - Riviera Theater at 5:30 p.m. We have moved the event to a Thursday night and brought it back downtown to a premier location. It will be quite an event, and I hope that you will mark it on your calendar and make every effort to come and bring your fellow lawyer friends with you.

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Finkel & Altman, LLC is pleased to announce that Sean A. O'Connor has become an associate of the firm located at 3955 Faber Place Drive, Suite 200, North Charleston, SC 29405. Tel. 576-1672.

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Krawcheck and Davidson, LLC is pleased to announce that Lydia Pruitt Cowan has become an associate with the firm located at 9 State Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Her practice is concentrated in the areas of real estate and estate planning.

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McNair Law Firm, P.A. is pleased to announce that W. Turner Boone has joined the firm, concentrating in the areas of real estate litigation and appellate litigation, and Cameron R. Heck has rejoined the firm, concentrating in the areas of real estate litigation and real estate

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Sottile, Hopkins & Daniel, LLC is pleased to announce that Paige B. Phillips has joined the firm as an associate. Ms. Phillips will practice in the areas of real estate, business, and trusts and estates.

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Young Clement Rivers, LLP is pleased to announce that Francesca Elizabeth Bosco, Lynnley Miles and Brian L. Quisenberry have joined the firm as associates. Ms. Bosco will practice with the trucking and transportation group; Ms. Miles will practice with the workers' compensation group; and Mr. Quisenberry will practice with the employment and labor law group.

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For Rent: In the heart of the Judicial Complex. Approximately 1800 square feet in classy new part of 1830s building. One floor (2 offices + secretarial space) $2,000.00 per month. Single office $850.00 per month. Receptionist, restrooms, and conference room included in rental. Contact: 853-0067.

Office for Rent: 535 Stinson Drive, West Ashley near Citadel Mall. Space available for one attorney and one staff. Conference room, phones, copier, fax and kitchen available. Call C. Steven Moskos at 763-5297.

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Office Space Available: Up to 1,300 square feet (approx.) on first floor of West Ashley office building at 1 Carriage Lane. Plenty of free parking, several offices from which to choose. Please contact member Scott Bluestein at 577-3092 or boatinglaw@bellsouth.net for further details.

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Office Space Available: In the historic market area of downtown Charleston, 171 Church St., the Franke Building, within walking distance to the court house. All amenities included: receptionist, runner, phone, high speed internet, postal meter, four conference rooms, parking garage for you and clients, kitchen. Reasonably priced. Contact Kristina or Nick at 720-3737 or 1-800-797-LAW1

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CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY

A group of local Christian attorneys meets once a month for breakfast for an informal Bible study or to listen to a speaker at Moo-Na Lisa coffee shop on Daniel Island in the Publix Shopping Center. The meetings are at 7:30 a.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

For additional information, you can contact any of the following:

Sam Clawson at sclawson@clawsonandstaubes.com
Reese Joye at reesejoye@aol.com
Thad Vincent at tvincent@thevincentlawfirm.com
Rhonda R. Jennings at rhondajennings@johnpricelawfirm.com

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JUDGE FIELDS SCHOLARSHIP FUND

The College of Charleston Foundation has reported that the Judge Fields Scholarship Fund has reached over $40,000.00 thanks to our support for this special project.

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ANNOUNCING THE FORMATION OF A BAR BASKETBALL LEAGUE

The Charleston County Bar Association is forming the Charleston County Bar Basketball League to run from January 17 to March 21 (every Tuesday night). All games will be held at the John Wesley United Methodist Church at 626 Savannah Highway in Charleston (just over the bridge into West Ashley). Any interested attorney is encouraged to join. You do not need to form a team to join, as all participants will be pooled together and teams will be formed after the first week. Any fees will be marginal. The first week will be an initial meeting and open gym. Attorneys who are interested in participating should contact Jeffrey J. Wiseman at jwiseman@ycrlaw.com. Because there will be a division of participants based on certain factors (in an effort to most fairly divide up the teams), please include in your initial email the following information:

1. Experience? Rate yourself one through seven, with one being that you have almost never played, four if you were an average player in high school and seven being that you considered trying out for the Lakers.
2. Do you play regularly today? Rate yourself one through seven, one being that you do not remember the last time you touched a basketball, four if you play once every couple of weeks and seven if you play almost every single day.
3. Skill level today? Rate yourself one through seven, with one being that you were a wrestler in high school, four being that you could make some shots on a good day and seven if you just lost your part time semi-pro basketball position for the Lowgators.
4. Year graduated from high school.
5. Whether you would like to play half court or full court, although we anticipate this will be a half court league with teams of 4-5 players playing 3 on 3 or 4 on 4, depending on participation levels.

The purpose of this league is provide Charleston County Bar members with the opportunity to have some fun, get to know one another and get some exercise. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to sign up. Please forward this notice to any attorneys you know that might be interested.

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CHARLESTON COUNTY PRO BONO OFFICE OPENS

At 111 Church Street, the new shop on the block is Pro Bono Legal Services, Inc. (PBLS). The non-profit, designed to match Charleston County's volunteers attorneys with worthy cases of low-income clients, also promises to support participating attorneys with intake, work-up and training. PBLS also intends to work with clinical programs, law student associations and career counseling at the Charleston School of Law and sponsor CLEs in partnership with the Charleston County Bar.

Marvin H. Feingold, formerly, a practicing attorney with the Migrant Division of the Statewide Legal Services program, is the new Director and Program Counsel. Since opening the office on November 1, Feingold has spent about half his time setting up the infrastructure for a three or four person operation and the other half getting up to speed in the field, as well as contacting important partners in the effort to assist Charleston County's pro bono effort.

Feingold spoke to our reporter while rummaging around his new digs for a printer cable.

"South Carolina and Charleston County in particular, has a good record of being there for those who really need legal assistance but cannot afford it. I go back to hurricane Hugo when our members set up tables in the Francis Marion Hotel ballroom and there has been excellent response to the needs of Katrina victims. I hear all the time of attorneys giving of their professional time and advice to those who would suffer injustice or miss some opportunity to improve their lot without needed legal assistance. One of our missions will be to recognize and record these good works and to let the public know more about the pro bono publico movement, today."

PBLS is one of very few pro bono programs receiving funding from the Legal Services Corporation which also funds Statewide Legal Services across the nation. The South Carolina Bar also operates a pro bono program whereby lists of interested attorneys are maintained in Columbia and an 800 number is available for call in by applicants. PBLS is expected to take the organization of pro bono efforts to another level in Charleston County. Feingold thinks the time is ripe.

"We are fortunate to have a new law school which has stressed participation of its students and faculty in pro bono activities. Innovative efforts, such as the Crisis Ministries/Nelson Mullins/CSL partnership to serve the homeless are I believe a harbinger of a new dedication by our profession to serve the public welfare. Coordinating all of the players, The South Carolina Centers for Equal Justice, Crisis Ministries, The SC Bar's Pro Bono Program and others will be part of the challenge. The point is however that with so much in the way of pro bono organizing resources, Charleston County has an opportunity to really shine as a pro bono Bar."

Asked about how cases would be chosen for matching with a volunteer attorney, Feingold explained that participating attorneys would be involved in identifying the types of cases to be considered most worthy.

"For the moment I've set down some working priorities which include: landlord/tenant and property; public benefits and elder law; domestic cases; consumer and economic development cases. I think the most dynamic areas and fertile ground are in the elder law area and economic development. Programs have been developed where low income people can be served in group clinics which create health care power of attorneys and/or wills. More can also be done to inform about the usefulness of the non-profit corporation to attain community goals.

Priority setting is an ongoing process. We'll want to survey member of the Charleston Bar and people in the community to come up with a set of priority cases which reflect the true need."

PBLS came into being as a result of the efforts of the Charleston County Bar Pro Bono Committee, which includes: Chairman Jerry Kaynard; Judge Richard E. Fields; I. Richard Gershon, Dean, Charleston School of Law; Susan Rosen; Mark Tanenbaum; Charleston County Bar President Francis X. McCann.

Pro Bono Legal Services, Inc. may be contacted at: 111 Church Street, P.O. Box 1116, Charleston, SC 29402; probonols@bellsouth.net, Tel. 843-853-6456; Fax. 843-723-1047.

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MARK YOUR CALENDARS

The Charleston County Bar Association's Annual Meeting and Reception is scheduled for Thursday, February 9, 2006 at The Riviera at Charleston Place Hotel. 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 2006. (You should have received this notice in November). If you know of or have any new attorneys who have joined your firm in the past year and 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. Please remember that your Charleston County Bar dues for 2006 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.

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HISTORY OF THE CHARLESTON COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION

Attorneys, Charles Town to Charleston, 1663 to 2005, published by Associated Publishing Company, will be for sale at the South Carolina Bar Convention January 27, 2006 and the Charleston County Bar Association Annual Meeting on February 9, 2006. Written by Ruth Cupp, with pictures and illustrations, it identifies 1699 as the beginning of the local legal profession. It also contains 47 pages of profiles of prominent law firms in Charleston. This publication will be on sale for $39.95.

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CIRCUIT COURT SCHEDULE - FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

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FAMILY COURT SCHEDULE - NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

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FAMILY COURT SCHEDULE - FIRST JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

CHARLESTON COUNTY COMMON PLEAS JURY VERDICTS