Name Organization Speaking At
Allison Foster
Dr. Foster received her undergraduate degrees in Psychology
and English Literature from Emory University in Atlanta, GA and her Ph.D. in
Clinical-Community Psychology from the University of South Carolina in
Columbia. Dr. Foster is Chief Psychologist at the Assessment and Resource
Center (The ARC), a nationally accredited Children's Advocacy Center in
Columbia. Previously she served as the program's director for 17 years. Dr.
Foster also maintains a private practice (Forensic Family Associates) and holds
an adjunct faculty position with the USC School of Medicine, Department of
Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science. Dr. Foster evaluates allegations of
child abuse, conducts child custody and parenting evaluations, provides
court-ordered treatment in high-conflict families and case consultations for
attorneys. Dr. Foster is also trained in collaborative divorce and is a
certified family law mediator. She testifies frequently as an expert in matters
pertaining to children, abuse and parent-child relationships, trains nationally
and conducts clinical research. Among her professional affiliations, Dr. Foster
is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), South Carolina
Psychological Association and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of
Children (APSAC). She is a frequent trainer for the National District Attorneys
Association, National Child Protection Training Center and National Children's
Advocacy Center.
Dr. Foster received her
undergraduate degrees from Emory University and Ph.D. in clinical psychology
from the University of South Carolina. She has been in forensic practice since
1995. Currently, she is Chief Psychologist at the Metropolitan Children's
Advocacy Center (formerly known as the ARC) in Columbia. She also maintains a
private practice (Forensic Family Associates) and holds an adjunct faculty
position with the USC School of Medicine, Department of Neuropsychiatry and
Behavioral Science. Dr. Foster evaluates allegations of child abuse, conducts
child custody and parenting evaluations, provides court-ordered treatment in
high-conflict families and case consultations for attorneys. Dr. Foster is also
trained in collaborative divorce and is a certified family law mediator. She
testifies frequently as an expert in matters pertaining to children, abuse and
parent-child relationships. Most recently, Dr. Foster returned to school. She
is a second-year law student in Mitchell Hamline's Executive JD program.
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Almand Barron
Almand James Barron received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1998. Ms. Barron is also a member of the Richland County Bar Association, Lexington County Bar Association and the South Carolina Women's Law Association. She is a Fellow in the South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and is Board Certified in Family Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. She has served on the Children's Committee, Professional Responsibility, Ethics Advisory, Judicial Qualifications and the Conventions Committee for the South Carolina Bar.
Ms. Barron focuses her practice solely in the area of Family Law and Domestic Relations and represents men, women and children in Family Court matters throughout South Carolina. She is a partner in the Law Offices of Shea and Barron in Columbia, South Carolina.
Shea and Barron
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Anne Spearman
Resolve Counseling, LLC
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Ashby Jones
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.
Ashby Jones and Associates LLC
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Austin Henderson
Stillinger Investigations Inc.
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Davis Henderson
Dr. Henderson is a Licensed Psychologist in private practice since 2005. He is a Board-Certified Child Custody Evaluator. He is a Board Certified Forensic Mental Health Evaluator. His forensic work has focused on Child Custody, Parental Alienation, Parental Fitness, and Psychological Evaluations. He has been entered as a Family Court Expert Witness in Charleston County, Dorchester County, Richland County, Greenville County, Beaufort County, and Horry County.
East Cooper Behavioral Health
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Emily McBurney
Emily's law practice has been exclusively devoted to Qualified Domestic Relations Orders ("QDROs") and other retirement benefit matters for twenty years. Prior to forming Emily W. McBurney, P.C., she was a founding partner of Kegel McBurney LLC and a shareholder at Davis, Matthews, & Quigley, P.C. Emily is a recognized expert in the field of QDROs and provides QDRO preparation and consultation services for clients across the country. She is a popular speaker and is frequently invited to lecture on this subject by legal and professional organizations nationwide. Emily has published numerous articles and contributed to various publications about QDROs. She has also written a QDRO blog for the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emily-w-mcburney/). Emily is a member of the Family Law and Employee Benefits Sections of the State Bar of Georgia and the Family Law section of the Atlanta Bar Association. She is a member of the QDRONEs, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, Women In Pensions, and a Master in the Charles Longstreet Weltner Family Law Inn of Court. Emily served as the Staff Attorney to the Honorable Cynthia D. Wright during the inaugural term of the Family Division of the Fulton County Superior Court in 1998. Emily also served as a Staff Attorney for the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Emily graduated, magna cum laude, from Brown University with a B.A. in 1990 and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1995.
Emily W. McBurney, P.C
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J. Benjamin Stevens
Ben Stevens is a Principal in the Spartanburg, SC office of Offit Kurman, an AmLaw 200 firm with 250 attorneys in 15 offices from New York to South Carolina. His practice is limited to handling complex divorce, child custody, and other family law matters. Ben is a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and currently serves as a national Vice President. He is also a Fellow in the International Academy of Family Lawyers and a Board Certified Family Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
Ben has been designated as a Super Lawyer in Family Law in multiple years, listed in The Best Lawyers in America©, and held an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell for many years. Ben is currently a member of the South Carolina Bar's Board of Governors, and he previously served as Chair of both the South Carolina Bar's Family Law Council and the Family Law Section of the South Carolina Association for Justice.
Ben co-authored Family Law Essentials: A Primer for the Private Practice Before the Family Court in South Carolina, which was published in 2018 by the South Carolina Bar. This comprehensive book not only explains the substantive law and procedure, it also provides tips and pointers for a more efficient and effective family law practice. He has given presentations on family law topics locally, nationally, and internationally.
Ben graduated with honors from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Management with a minor in Accounting. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina. He and his wife, Jenny, who is also an attorney, are the proud parents of six children, one grandchild, and four cats. In his spare time, he enjoys painting as a hobby.
The Stevens Law Group, LLC
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Missy Johnson
Melissa
specializes in litigation support for domestic matters and business valuation
services. Her services include the preparation of financial declarations, alimony,
child support and pension calculations, tracing projects, marital standard of
living analysis and calculations of income and cash flow. She also performs business valuations for a
variety of purposes, including marital dissolution, estate and gift taxes, and
commercial and shareholder disputes. In addition to being a CPA licensed in
South Carolina, Melissa received the designation of Certified Valuation Analyst
in 2002 and Master Analyst in Financial Forensics in 2010. She has testified on
numerous occasions as an expert witness for the family courts and on issues
regarding business valuations and business matters.
Education,
Credentials and Special Training
Certified
Public Accountant
Certified
Valuation Analyst
Master Analyst
of Financial Forensics
Master of
Accountancy, College of Charleston
B.S.,
Marketing, Southern Illinois University
Elliott Davis, LLC
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Reid Sherard
Reid Sherard leads Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Family Law practice group. He concentrates his time in complex divorce-related litigation, particularly involving significant assets, income, valuation, or other challenging financial issues as well as contested custody matters, interstate and international jurisdiction disputes, and premarital and postnuptial agreements. He enjoys helping individuals find solutions to difficult personal problems, whether through negotiated settlement or in trial. Reid is sensitive to the private nature of the matters he handles and recognizes the importance of each case.
Reid is based in Greenville, his hometown, but practices across
the state. He is frequently requested to speak on family law issues at
statewide seminars.
Reid is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® and South Carolina
Super Lawyers (top 25 in the state for 2017, 2018, and 2020, and 2021,
regardless of practice area), and enjoys the AV Preeminent® Rating by
Martindale-Hubbell. Reid’s peers have
recognized him as the top attorney vote getter for Greenville Business Magazine
Legal Elite for six consecutive years.
Reid is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and is
a certified family court mediator. Reid
received both the Distinguished Honors Alumni Award from the USC Honors College
and the USC School of Law’s Compleat Lawyer Award (Silver).
Reid also maintains a litigation and appellate practice. He has tried cases in the family court, federal district and magistrate court, and various state and local courts. He has argued ten appeals, including in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the South Carolina Supreme Court, and the South Carolina Court of Appeals.
Before joining Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, Reid practiced for 15
years at an AmLaw 100 firm. He is a
graduate of the nationally recognized Family Law Trial Institute in Houston,
Texas. Reid commenced his career as a law clerk to the late Hon. G. Ross
Anderson, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina.
Reid currently serves as President-Elect of the Greenville County
Bar Association, as the Chair of the 2022 American Heart Association Upstate
Heart Walk, and Member of both the SC Bar Family Law Section Council and House
of Delegates. He previously served as
President of the Board of Directors of A Child’s Haven.
Education:
University of South Carolina School of Law, JD (2004)
University of Aberdeen, Scotland, MLitt, with distinction (2001)
University of South Carolina, Honors College, BA, magna cum laude
(2000)
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA
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Richard Whiting
Dick Whiting graduated from Presbyterian College in 1972. Upon his graduation from PC, Dick returned to his hometown of Miami, Florida and entered the international shipping business. He received his Master's in Business Administration from Florida International University in 1980 and returned to South Carolina that same year. Dick graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in December of 1982. Since his graduation from law school, Dick has practiced primarily in the area of Family Law and Federal and State "Wiretap" Law.
Law Offices of Richard Whiting
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Stephanie Brinkley
Developing a Successful Assisted Reproduction Technology Law Practice , written with colleague Richard B. Vaughn, which is published by the American Bar Association. As part of her practice, Stephanie represents clients seeking to build their families through surrogacy and/or gamete donation. She is also called upon to represent gestational carriers who have offered their services. With greater frequency, Stephanie is consulted to advise families transitioning divorce after creating children through third party reproduction. Parental disputes arising from genetic relationships (or lack thereof), misapplication of medical consent forms, and ownership rights of unused embryos are rising among divorce litigants.
Brinkley Law Firm, LLC
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