Event Information

Allison Dunham has been handling family court cases for over 20 years. A former chairman of the Governor's Youth Council, Allison has developed a keen understanding of what it takes to not only be effective in family court, but to make her clients' lives tolerable as they go through the legal process.
After receiving her J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1995, she practiced briefly in a small law firm before joining the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office, where she was a prosecutor. As a prosecutor, one of her goals was to rehabilitate youthful wrongdoers. She was a member of the Governor's Youth Council in an effort to bring together a variety of community resources to build a coalition that sought to break the cycle of crime.
After four years, she joined the Department of Social Services as a lawyer focusing on protection of children from parents and guardians. She became the managing attorney of the agency's legal department and in 2006 she went into private practice with Killoren, Kissinger, Dantin, Denton and Dunham, P.C.
Dunham describes her practice as one that encompasses almost the full range of family law: divorce, custody and custody modification, child support and child support modification, and division of assets. In addition, she handles DSS actions in Family Court.
 

Ashby Jones is a graduate of Presbyterian College and the University of South Carolina School of Law.  She is the owner of Ashby Jones and Associates, LLC in Lexington. Ashby’s focus is domestic litigation, though she has practiced extensively in Circuit Court and is licensed to practice in the United States District Court and the United States Supreme Court.  Ashby is one of few South Carolina domestic practitioners admitted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, generally recognized by judges and attorneys as preeminent family law practitioners with a high level of knowledge, skill and integrity.  Ashby is Board Certified in the area of Family Law by the National Board of Trial Advocates and in 2022 was inducted into the charter chapter of the South Carolina Family Law Inn of Court as a Master.   She is the Family Law Section chair of the South Carolina Association for Justice.  Ashby holds an AV Preeminent peer-review rating from Martindale-Hubbell. She has contributed to the SCAJ journal, The Bulletin, and the national magazine Family Lawyer.  She was appointed by the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Lawyer-Neutral Member of the Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution in 2022 and sits on the Advisory Board for the Lexington District One Center for Law and Global Policy Development. She speaks regularly at continuing legal education seminars. Ashby has been named one of the Legal Elite of the Midlands by Columbia Business Monthly and has been a Super Lawyers Selectee, both on numerous occasions. She has been named as one of the Best Lawyers in America on three occasions.  She is a 2022 recipient of the University of South Carolina Compleat Lawyer Award, which recognizes alumni for their outstanding civic and professional accomplishments, significant contributions to the legal profession, and those who exemplify the highest standards of professional competence, ethics and integrity.  In April of 2023, Ashby will be named one of the Top 25 Lawyers in South Carolina by Super Lawyers.

Chris received his BA from Furman University and his Master of Accountancy from the University of South Carolina. His practice involves forensic accounting and business valuation. Within forensic accounting, Chris primarily works on family law matters but has also been involved in damage calculations and other civil matters. He performs business valuations for several purposes including, but not limited to; litigation, estate & gift tax, and transactions on both the buy and sell side. Chris is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). 

Drew Stevens is a Board-Certified Financial Planning practitioner, and a Wealth Management Advisor with Northwestern Mutual.  He has worked there since 2008, is a partner with G3 Wealth Advisors, and is board certified in 'Retirement Income Distribution Planning'.  Their team manages over $750 million of client assets for roughly 800 individuals in the Midlands.    

Mr. James T. McLaren maintains a statewide family law practice emphasizing complex marital litigation in Columbia, South Carolina.  He is a partner in the law firm of McLaren & Lee.  He has served the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in various capacities since becoming a Fellow, including National President in 2015.  He received the AAML Fellow of the Year from the Academy in 2007 and the AAML Professionalism Award in 2020.  He serves on various Academy Committees.  He has served on the Board of the AAML Foundation, where he currently serves on the Advisory Board.  For the South Carolina Chapter of the Academy, he has served as President and National Delegate.  He is a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers and currently serves on the Executive Committee.  He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. He is currently the South Carolina Chapter President for the International Network of Boutique Law Firms.  He currently serves on the South Carolina Bar Family Law Council and was appointed to the President’s Task Force on Alimony.  Mr. McLaren has been named in the Best Lawyers in America, Family Law Designation, since 1993, received an “AV” designation from Martindale Hubbell since 1996, and has been named in the South Carolina Super Lawyers publication since 2008. He is a contributing author to the South Carolina Equitable Apportionment Act (§20-7-741, et. seq., S.C. Code of Laws) and the South Carolina Alimony Statute (§20-3-130, South Carolina Code of Laws). Mr. McLaren received his undergraduate degree (1973) from the University of South Carolina and Juris Doctorate degree (1976) from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  He was admitted to practice in 1976 and has maintained a private practice in Columbia, South Carolina since that time.  He is also admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, U.S. District Court, South Carolina District, and the U.S. Supreme Court.  He is a frequent speaker on various family law topics for the South Carolina Bar, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, American Bar Association, South Carolina Association for Justice and Mandatory Judicial and Continuing Legal Education Seminars. He has been a faculty member of the ABA/NITA Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute, offered annually in Boulder, Colorado.   

Jessica Christophillis is a partner at Christophillis & Gallivan in Greenville, South Carolina. Jessica focuses her practice predominately on divorce cases involving high net worth estates, alimony issues, business valuation issues, and other complex equitable division cases.  Jessica is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where she earned her J.D. and B.S. in accounting. Jessica also attended Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois where she earned her L.L.M. in taxation.
Prior to starting her firm, Jessica worked at PWC where she focused on tax compliance and planning for individuals, LLCs, partnerships, and corporations.
Jessica is a Certified Family Court Mediator. She is also a graduate of the Houston Family Law Trial Institute and has been named as Greenville Business Magazine's Legal Elite of the Upstate in Family Law for the past 5 years. Jessica is the author of the article "What to Expect When Expecting Marital Litigation: Protecting Assets with Beneficiary Interest in a Divorce or Separate Support and Maintenance Action" published in the SC Lawyer in July 2017.
Jessica currently serves on the Upstate Mediation Board and Artisphere board both in Greenville, SC. Jessica and her husband Cory live in Greenville with their six-year-old twin boys.
 

As a founding partner of McDougall, Self, Currence & McLeod, LLP, John O. McDougall hosts over 40 years of experience practicing law in South Carolina. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1971, and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in the same year. In addition to his work with McDougall, Self, Currence & McLeod, LLP, he is also a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, and the South Carolina Association for Justice.

John O. McDougall is the second lawyer to be president of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association and the South Carolina Bar Association within the history of the two organizations. He is also the only lawyer limiting his practice to matrimonial law to be president of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association and the South Carolina Bar Association. John O. McDougall has been nominated as one of the Best Lawyers in America by Woodward/White, Inc. since 1991.

Jonathan W. Lounsberry joined KD Trial Lawyers in 2021 and is a member of the firm’s family law team. As a Fellow in the International Academy of Family Lawyers and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, his has extensive experience in complex family court litigation and international family law issues, with a particular focus on international child abduction and cross-border custody issues pursuant to the 1980 Hague Convention. 

Jonathan received a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of South Carolina (2006) and his J.D. from the Charleston School of Law (2009). He is admitted to practice in South Carolina, the District of South Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has authored and co-authored articles regarding the practice of family law and the use of technology in litigation for the South Carolina Lawyer, the ABA Section of Family Law’s Family Advocate, the ABA Section of Litigation’s Family Law Litigation Newsletter, and the International Academy of Family Lawyers’ Online News.  Jonathan is also the Principal Editor of the South Carolina Children’s Law Resource Manual (2014) and Co-Author of Family Law Essentials: A Primer for Private Practice Before the Family Court in South Carolina (2018), both publications of the SC Bar CLE Division.

Leslie grew up in Charleston and attended the College of Charleston. She graduated in 1993 with a B.A. in History. She opened her practice in 2009. Her focus is primarily on domestic cases, including uncontested divorces, custody actions, child support modifications, Rules to Show Cause, and other contested matters in Family Court, and she also handles criminal defense cases, including juvenile delinquency cases, misdemeanors, and felonies in State Court as well as defending Federal Criminal charges.

Leslie attended the University of South Carolina School of Law and graduated in 1998. While in law school, she was a member of the Moot Court Bar and participated in the ABA Appellate Advocacy Competition. She was also the Associate Justice of Administration. She was a member of the Environmental Law Journal as well as Phi Delta Phi (a legal fraternity) and was social chairman for Phi Delta Phi during her third year of law school.

She began her career at the Charleston County Public Defender’s Office in Family Court, defending juveniles accused of crimes. She then moved to General Sessions Court, defending adults accused of crimes. She participated in a vast number of jury trials while employed at the Public Defender’s Office, as both first and second chair. Her experience includes charges that range the gamut from handling tickets in Magistrate’s Court to defending murder cases in General Sessions. 

From the Public Defender’s Office, she began working in 2002 for Suggs & Kelly Lawyers, which later became the Mike Kelly Law Group. She managed the Myrtle Beach office of the Columbia based Plaintiff’s focused law firm. Her practice areas included Social Security Disability, Civil Litigation, Workers’ Compensation, and Criminal Defense.

She is admitted to practice in South Carolina State Court, Federal District Court, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. She currently handles Family Law Cases, Post-Conviction Relief (PCR) cases, Criminal Defense in Family Court, General Sessions, and in Federal District Court, as well as doing criminal appeals in State Court and in the Fourth Circuit. 

She has attended the criminal trial advocacy college, which is a 2 weeklong, intensive seminar focused on trial skills in criminal court. She has also attended a civil trial advocacy college, which focuses on trial skills in the civil arena.

She is currently serving as a member of the Ninth Circuit Public Defender Selection Committee and serve as a Board Member for Palmetto Scholars Academy. 

Patrice Sebastian has been providing forensic, valuation, and consulting services since 2000. he began adding financial planning to her service offerings in 2016 and obtained her financial planning credentials in 20 9.

Patrice obtained her Bachelors of Science from the College of Charleston with degrees in business

administration and accounting in 1994 and completed her MBA at Francis Marion University in 2002.

She is a member of the AICPA, SCACPA, the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts(NACVA), and the Financial Planning Association.

Patrice believes in helping people find financial peace of mind. Her life path hasn't always been the

easiest, but she has used these experiences to help her educate and empower others to take responsibility for their financial health and help them plan for successful futures.

Outside of the office, Patrice is known as Mimi. he and her husband, Steve, stay close with their family.

Patrice tries to spend as much time as she can with her grandchildren. She is also passionate about helping others who need food and shelter.

Ms. West has practiced solely in the South Carolina Family Court since 2003. Prior to dedicating her practice to family law, she was a general practitioner handling injury and workers’ compensation matters.

Ms. West holds a law degree from the University of Mississippi (2000) and an undergraduate degree from Lander University (1997).   

She is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.  She serves as a Certified Family Court mediator.  Ms. West is a member of the Lexington County Bar Association (President, 2014), American Bar Association, Family Law Section, South Carolina Association for Justice and the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association.

Published Opinions:

McComb v. Conard, 394 S.C. 416, 715 S.E.2d 662 (Ct. App. 2011) (Trial Counsel)

Sanderson v. Sanderson, 391 S.C. 249, 705 S.E. 2d 65 (Ct. App. 2010) (Appellate Counsel)

Robert N. Rosen is a shareholder in the Rosen Law Firm in Charleston. He received his B.A. degree in history from the University of Virginia in 1969, his M.A. degree in History from Harvard University in 1970, and his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1973. He was admitted to the South Carolina Bar that same year.
He is, and has been, an active member of the South Carolina Bar, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and the International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He has lectured at Continuing Legal Education seminars and Judicial Continuing Legal Education Seminars. He has taught courses to newly-elected Family Court Judges. He served on the editorial board of the Family Advocate, a national publication of the A.B.A. Family Law Section.
He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is a Past President of the South Carolina Chapter. He formerly served on the Board of Governors of the AAML. He is rated AV in Martindale Hubbell, is listed in the current and past twenty editions of the Best Lawyers in America in the field of Family

 

Bob Stevens has been practicing in the family courts for more than 40 years. His practice is exclusively in the area of matrimonial law and family law. Since receiving his J.D. from Syracuse University, Bob has been admitted to both the South Carolina and the New York State Bars. Bob has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers since 1993, served as President of the South Carolina Chapter 2016 - 2018 and is currently the South Carolina Delegate to the National Board of Governors. Bob is certified as both a mediator and arbitrator by the American Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys.