Event Information

Charles began his career as a CPA auditing life insurance companies and banks. After that, he served as CFO to two large life insurance and annuity companies and took over the reins of three structured settlement divisions, two of which he established as startups.  Charles was also instrumental in changing the structured settlement industry from defense-centric to one that includes plaintiff representation. Since 2006, he has developed his skills as a plaintiff settlement planner and is currently focused on protecting plaintiffs’ rights under Medicare, Medicaid, and ERISA. He received his BBA from University of Miami’s School of Business. 

Charles is currently the Director of Insurance at Settlement Professionals, Inc.

David is a plaintiff’s attorney practicing in Charleston, South Carolina. Upon graduation from the College of Charleston, he earned his officer’s commission in the United States Marine Corps in 1984 serving with the 1^st FSSG at Camp Pendleton, California, at the rank of Captain. He earned his law degree from USC and upon ending his tour of service in 1990, he returned to Charleston to practice law. He practiced with the firm of Savage and Savage for approximately 20 years handling exclusively plaintiff’s personal injury until establishing his own firm where his practice is still exclusively plaintiff’s personal injury with an emphasis on dramshop litigation.

David Yarborough is a co-founder of the Charleston-based Yarborough Applegate law firm, which is dedicated to representing injured individuals in bad faith, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases.  He has prosecuted bad faith cases involving most forms of insurance including first- and third-party auto claims, life, long-term disability, long-term care, homeowners, commercial general liability, professional liability, alcohol liability, and E&O coverage.  On behalf of their clients, David and his law firm have achieved more than $50,000,000 in settlements, verdicts, and judgments outside or above policy-limits coverage because of insurance bad faith and negligent claim handling.  David is frequently associated by other attorneys to serve as lead trial counsel to handle cases involving bad faith, default scenarios, blown Tyger River or time-demand letters, and unreasonably denied claims.   

David Lail’s practice focuses on helping people that have experienced a life-changing event or crisis and found themselves with a real fight on their hands – a fight that many times involves powerful and connected interests on the other side. Regardless of the opposition, his approach remains the same – build the strongest case possible for trial and let the results speak for themselves.

Since he began practicing law in 2011, Lail has helped achieve over $168 million on behalf of injured clients - including over $50 million in jury verdicts and more than $60 million for victims of drunk driving.

Lail devotes much of his practice representing drunk driving victims in Dram Shop Litigation and has written and presented extensively on this niche practice area. Recently, Lail was a principal author of the book, “South Carolina Dram Shop Litigation: A Practice Guide” and was a contributing co-author of the Dram Shop Liability section of “South Carolina Damages, Second Edition” both published by the South Carolina Bar. In addition, Lail has conducted numerous presentations and CLEs on Dram Shop Litigation for entities such as the South Carolina Bar, the City of Charleston Police Department, the South Carolina Association for Justice (SCAJ), The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), The Charleston School of Law, and Strafford Publications, Inc. Lail was also interviewed as part of the South Carolina Business Review’s report, “Dram Shop” Risk on the Rise in SC.

Lail is a member of The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 and the South Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Star list. Lail is a Board Member and Executive Committee Member of the South Carolina Association for Justice, a member of the American Association for Justice, and he is also licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia.

David received a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Kentucky in 2001 and then moved to Charleston in 2006 after a career with a Fortune 500 company. Next, David received an M.B.A. from The Citadel, highest honors, and a J.D., cum laude, from the Charleston School of Law where he was an Associate Articles Editor of the Charleston Law Review, a member of the Charleston School of Law Moot Court Board, and a Teaching Fellow in the Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing Department. During his legal study, David received CALI Awards for the highest law school grade in: Torts, Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing I & II, and Pleadings & Practice.

David lives in Charleston with his wife, Lauren, and their two children, Evie and Hugh.

David is currently a Partner at Yarborough Applegate LLC.

Dr. Eagerton received his Doctorate in Pharmacology in 1992 from the University of South Carolina.  During his graduate studies he also worked as a Poison Control Consultant at the Palmetto Poison Center.  In February of 1993 he joined the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) as a Forensic Toxicologist, was promoted to Lieutenant in August 1997 and served as Chief Toxicologist, overseeing the SLED Toxicology Department, until his retirement in September 2009.  Dr. Eagerton joined the founding faculty of the Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy (PCSP) in October 2009, and was promoted to an Associate Professor with tenure in 2015.  In June 2017 Dr. Eagerton joined the faculty at Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.  Dr. Eagerton is a graduate of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and is Board Certified in Forensic Toxicology.  He has authored numerous publications and presentations in the fields of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology.  He has testified as an expert in the fields of Toxicology and Pharmacology in Magistrate, General Sessions, Federal, and U.S. Military courts and has served as an Expert Witness Faculty Member at the National District Attorneys Association National Advocacy Center since 1999.  Dr. Eagerton has served as an Inspector for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation Board and is a member of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and the Southern Association of Forensic Scientists.  He is the founding President of the Palmetto Association of Toxicologists and is also a certified WMD HAZMAT technician, and a former member of the SLED Forensics Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Team and the South Carolina Bioterrorism Advisory Committee.  Dr. Eagerton is the Laboratory Director at LifeHope Labs and a member of the American Association of Forensic Scientists Standards Board as a subject matter expert for the Toxicology Consensus Body.

Francis M. Ervin, II is Special Counsel with the firm Rogers Townsend, LLC in its Charleston office. Francis focuses his practice on dram shop litigation, construction defects, landlord/tenant and premises liability matters. He has defended carriers in dram shop and transportation (trucking) cases involving personal injury and property damage. Francis also handles a wide range of professional liability (medical malpractice defense) and product liability cases. In addition, he has experience working on trademark and copyright matters.

Active in the community, Francis serves as Board Chair for the Redux Contemporary Art Center, as well on the Board of Directors for the Sustainability Institute of South Carolina, an energy conservation non-profit in the Lowcountry. He serves on the Development Committee of the McLeod Hospital Foundation Board and is a 2015 McLeod Fellow graduate.

Francis obtained a B.A. from the University of South Carolina (1995); a M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado (1998); and his J.D. from Suffolk University School of Law (2001). He is admitted to practice in South Carolina and Massachusetts, and further has been admitted to practice before the following courts: U.S. District Court – South Carolina and Massachusetts; U.S. Court of Appeals – 1^st and 4^th Circuits. Francis is a member of the South Carolina Bar, Massachusetts Bar, Charleston County Bar, American Bar Association, S.C. Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association and Defense Research Institute.

Francis resides on Daniel Island, South Carolina with his wife and three daughters.  

Jeremy Babener is a tax lawyer specializing in settlement issues. He is Chair of the Society of Settlement Planner’s Legal Committee and a former fellow in the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy. He received his J.D. and Tax LL.M from New York University. 

Jeremy is currently the Special Tax Counsel at Lane Powell PC.