Event Information

D. Nichole Davis is a personal injury attorney at McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates, P.A. in Lexington, South Carolina. Prior to joining the firm, she served as Risk Management Director at the South Carolina Bar and as Director of the South Carolina Supreme Court’s Lawyer Mentoring Program. She litigated child abuse and neglect cases on behalf of the South Carolina Department of Social Services, and she clerked for the Honorable Clifton Newman.

Nichole is a recipient of the 2023 South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award and the University of South Carolina School of Law 2018 Silver Compleat Lawyer Award. She is a member of Leadership South Carolina class of 2019, a member of the ABA Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy Class of 2019, and a member of the South Carolina Bar Leadership Academy Class of 2015. In 2016, she was named South Carolina Bar Young Lawyer of the Year.

She is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Professionalism, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, the planning committee for the ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility, the South Carolina Black Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Bar Ethics Advisory Committee, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Bar Professional Responsibility Committee, the Society for Diversity, Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society, the South Carolina Bar Judicial Qualifications Committee, and the University of South Carolina Alumni Association.

Nichole is an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP)®, and a certified family court mediator.

A long-time resident of Columbia, Sarah Cox focuses her practice on employment law, personal injury, civil rights law and civil litigation.  

Sarah came to Burnette Shutt & McDaniel as a senior law clerk, working for the firm as she completed her Juris Doctor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law.  

Sarah also attended the University of South Carolina School of Law for one year, where she also served as a library research assistant. She earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She studied abroad for a semester in Estonia. 

Sarah lives in Columbia with her husband, Matt, and their two children. In her free time, Sarah enjoys exploring South Carolina state parks with her family. 

Sarah is a member of the South Carolina Bar Employment and Labor Law Section, South Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society, Richland County Bar Association Diversity Committee, South Carolina Women Lawyers, and South Carolina Bar Civil Rights Section. 

Sarah’s published works include:

Sarah J.M. Cox, Grandparent and Third-Party Visitation Rights: A 50 State Survey, 40 Child. Legal Rts. J. 76  (2020)

Sarah J.M. Cox, Six Things “Bad” Movies Can Teach Us About Oral Advocacy, SC Lawyer (Nov. 2021) 

Sarah’s awards include:

ABA Free Legal Answers Pro Bono Leader 2020, 2021

South Carolina Supreme Court Pro Bono Honor Roll 2020, 2021

Sheila Willis is a Partner in the Columbia office and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Affirmative Action and Federal Contract Compliance Practice Group. She is committed to finding practical, real world solutions to her clients’ employment law needs. She represents companies—large and small—as they navigate employment issues related to hiring, discipline, investigations, employment discrimination, unemployment, and other related issues. Sheila provides guidance to higher education institutions on Title IX Compliance and investigations  She has extensive experience providing compliance advice to federal contractors on affirmative action and OFCCP regulations and audits.  Sheila also has extensive experience working on collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and class actions under wage and hour state laws. Sheila also provides training for supervisors and managers on harassment, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) compliance, the Family Medical Leave Act, diversity and inclusion, and many other areas. 

Sheila is involved in various professional and community activities. She is a past president of both the South Carolina Women Lawyers’ Association (SCWLA) and the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers (SCYLD) Division. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Columbia – Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the board of the National Conference of Women’s’ Bar Associations.  Sheila is active in the Richland County Bar, American Bar Association, and is a member of the Junior League of Columbia. 

Prior to attending law school, Sheila was a member of store leadership for a Fortune 500 retail company, providing employee supervision and managing a variety of employee issues related to wage and hour, workers’ compensation, discrimination issues, performance management, and other personnel issues. 

Sheila is a 2019 recipient of the Silver Compleat lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association. This award recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and who exemplify the highest standard of professional competence, ethics, and integrity. 

She has also been named to the Columbia Regional Business Report’s list of 2018 Women of Influence, Columbia Business Monthly’s 2018 Best and Brightest 35 and Under,  Columbia Business Monthly’s Legal Elite of the Midlands in 2017 and the  American Bar Association’s  On the Rise – Top 40 under 40 in 2018.  She is also a 2018 South Carolina Super Lawyers – Rising Star and a 2019 recipient of the Leadership in the Law award.   She was awarded the Johnathon Jasper Wright Award by The Honorable Matthew J. Perry Chapter of the Black Law Students Association at the University of South Carolina School of Law, is a three-time recipient of the President’s Award a and a four-time recipient of the Start of the Quarter award from the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers’ Division.