Name Organization Speaking At
Andrea Moore
Village Legal Hub, LLC
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Courtney Cadien
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Deborah Malphrus
Judge Deborah Ann Malphrus is a South Carolina low country native. Born on August 7, 1964, to the late Patricia Ann Lowther Malphrus and the late Joseph Nelson Malphrus, she is the youngest of three children. Judge Malphrus's earliest memories revolve around the legal and judicial system. Her childhood home was located across the street from the Jasper County Courthouse and adjacent to her father's law office. Her service to the judicial system began at the age of four when she served as jury girl for big court in Jasper County.
Judge Malphrus graduated high school from Thomas Heyward, Ridgeland, SC. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of South Carolina in 1987. While at the University, she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha fraternity and also a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. During and after law school, Judge Malphrus worked as a Registered Nurse at Baptist Medical Center and Lexington Medical Center. She was also a volunteer nurse at the Columbia Free Medical Clinic.
Though Judge Malphrus considered attending medical school after nursing school, her passion was and has remained to the law. After graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1990, Judge Malphrus served as law clerk to the late Honorable Carol Connor. Judge Malphrus's father instilled in her the love for the law. However, it was Judge Connor who made her passionate about aspiring to serve in the judiciary. After completing her clerkship to Judge Connor, Judge Malphrus served as an Assistant Solicitor under the Honorable Randolph Murdaugh, III, in the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit. Thereafter, she entered the private practice of law with her brother and father, Joseph N. Malphrus and Joseph N. Joey Malphrus, Jr. When her father retired from the practice of law and her brother was elected Jasper County Probate Judge, Judge Malphrus joined the law firm of Moss, Kuhn & Fleming. She was the firm's managing attorney for its Ridgeland office.
Judge Malphrus has always been active in her community. She served as a Trustee for St. Paul's United Methodist Church, where she is a member. She served as a member of the Jasper County Recreation Advisory Board, the Jasper County ad hoc committee studying alternative sentencing and jail overcrowding issues, and member of the Jasper County Gopher Hill festival committee. She has also served as a member of the board of directors for the Jasper County Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, and a member of the board of directors of Palmetto Electric Cooperative. Judge Malphrus was the youngest person to serve on the Palmetto Electric Cooperative board of directors and was also the youngest person and first female to serve as Chairman of the Board of Palmetto Electric Cooperative. In terms of her service to her legal community, Judge Malphrus has served as the secretary and treasurer for the Jasper County Bar Association, as a presenter and lecturer at legal-nurse consultant seminars, and as a presiding judge for the Ney National Mock Trial competitions held at Furman University. She views pro bono service to be part of the price one pays for practicing law, especially in a small community. She has given countless hours of pro bono service to those in need in Jasper County.
Judge Malphrus considers her three children, Brann, Sarabeth, and Andrew to be her greatest accomplishments. To be sure, she enjoys the salt waters and swamps of the low country, her marsh tacky horses, primitive camping, gardening, playing the piano, reading, and spending time at her mountain cabin. However, her greatest delight is simply being with those she loves.
On May 25, 2011, Judge Malphrus was elected by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina to the Family Court Bench.
S.C. Family Court
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Ernest Jarrett
Judge Ernest J. Jarrett was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. His parents are William “Billy” Jarrett and Mattie “Beezie” Jarrett.” He is married to Josette Jarrett and they have three children, Kyle, Katie and Winston, and one granddaughter, Evie.
Super Lawyer magazine in 2020.
S.C. Judicial Branch
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Jamie Wilson
Wilson Legal
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Jenny Stevens
Jenny is the owner of The Stevens Law Group, LLC in Spartanburg. She was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and is a graduate of the College of Charleston and Charleston School of Law. Prior to moving to Spartanburg, she helped form the Charleston County Custody Fast-Track Committee, which she co-chaired. She was trained and certified as a Volunteer Guardian ad Litem during her first year of law school. Following her certification, she devoted her pro bono service work for over two years to representing many children involved in abuse and neglect cases in the Charleston County Family Court. These cases, along with her own personal experience with divorce inspired her to practice family law in a way that focuses not only on the legal aspect of domestic relations, but also on the impact these events have on the individuals involved.
Jenny is a member of the Spartanburg County Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar, the American Bar Association, and the South Carolina Women Lawyer's Association. Jenny is a frequent speaker at local, state, and regional continuing legal education seminars, and thoroughly enjoys engaging with her peers to better the practice of family law in South Carolina. She is also a certified private Guardian ad Litem and finds her work representing children in private custody litigation to be some of her most rewarding work. She has been the Course Planner and Moderator of the SC Bar's Annual Guardian ad Litem Training & Update CLE for many years.
When she isn't working, Jenny enjoys spending time at home with her husband, Ben (also a family law attorney and her law partner), and their six children, who range in age from 14 to 27, their four cats (Gaylord, Hoover, Baxter, and Felix), and her granddaughter. She and Ben enjoy traveling to attend and/or present at various family law and legal conferences, but also are learning to enjoy the quiet of their almost-empty-nest!
The Stevens Law Group, LLC
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Jessica Means
Hall & Means, LLC
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Julianne Stokes
Julianne Meggs Stokes graduated with honors from Presbyterian College in 2003, earning a B.S. in Political Science. She received her J.D. from Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law in 2006. Mrs. Stokes was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 2006 and has practiced almost exclusively in the Family Courts of South Carolina since that time. She deals on a daily basis with issues such as divorce, equitable distribution of assets and liabilities, alimony, and time-sharing and support of children. She also represents clients in high-asset, complex marital and family law cases, drafting and enforcing prenuptial agreements, modification of alimony or child support payments, modification of custody, and parental relocation cases. In addition to her very active litigation practice, Mrs. Stokes is also a certified Family Court Mediator and acts as a Guardian ad Litem in private custody matters.
Mrs. Stokes is a member of the South Carolina Bar (Family Law Section),
Charleston County Bar, and the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association. She is
also a member of the South Carolina Bar Resolution of Fee Disputes Board.
Stokes Family Law & Mediation, LLC
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Kimaka Nichols-Graham
Kimaka Nichols-Graham is the Managing Attorney of the Greenville Office and the Education Unit Head for South Carolina Legal Services where she has worked for over 15 years practicing primarily family and education law. South Carolina Legal Services provides civil legal services to low income families. As the Education Unit Head, Mrs. Nichols-Graham represents clients in education cases across the state, trains attorneys to practice education law, and develops this practice area at legal services. As the Managing Attorney in Greenville, she is responsible for the provision of civil legal services in Anderson, Greenville, Pickens, and Oconee counties, the quality of legal services provided, and maintaining connections with the community and private bar. Mrs. Nichols-Graham attended Winthrop University and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She attended Rutgers University and earned a Master of Science in Public Policy with a concentration in Education Policy. She also attended the University of South Carolina, School of Law and earned a Juris Doctor. Ms. Nichols-Graham is a past recipient of the South Carolina Bar's Young Lawyer of the Year Award, and a past Commissioner for the South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on CLE & Specialization. Mrs. Nichols-Graham serves on the SCBAR Children's Law Committee, the SCBAR Education Law Committee, the South Carolina Children's Justice Act Task Force, the board of The Center for Educational Equity, and on the board of PRO Parents of South Carolina. Mrs. Nichols-Graham is a member of The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), the Education Law Association (ELA), the Greenville Bar Association, and the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association.
S.C. Family Court
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Richard Allen
S.C. Department of Social Services
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Samer Touma
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Sean Keefer
Sean was raised in South Carolina and attended the University of South Carolina where he received a degree in Journalism and a Masters of Mass Communications.
He attended law school at the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. He has been in private practice since 1997 with a focus on domestic relations. Currently he is a member of the firm of Keefer & Keefer in Charleston where he concentrates his practice on Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Family Courts to include mediation and limited arbitration.
Sean currently serves as a member of the South Carolina Supreme Court's Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission.
In addition to his practice, Sean is a partner in Settlyd.com, a cloud based suite of financial software aids for South Carolina family law judges and lawyers and professionals.
He is also the author of two legal thrillers set in Charleston, The Trust and The Solicitor.
Sean F. Keefer, LLC
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Spiros Ferderigos
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Vicki Snelgrove
Judge Vicki Johnson Snelgrove assumed her duties as Family Court Judge for the Second Judicial Circuit in July of 2010. She is a native South Carolinian who was born in Aiken to B. Henderson Johnson, Jr., and Doris Johnson. She grew up in Aiken, graduated from Aiken High School and received her Bachelors degree in Humanities (English) from the University of South Carolina in 1979. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1982. While at the USC School of Law, she participated on the Moot Court Team and received an award at the national level.
Upon graduation from law school, Judge Snelgrove entered private practice in Aiken with her father (B. Henderson Johnson, Jr.), her brother Barry, Ronald A. Maxwell and James E. Whittle, Jr. She remained with that firm until her election to this seat in 2010.
During her 27 years of private practice, she was very active with the South Carolina Bar serving on Family Law Section Council and as its Chair 2007 - 2008, has sat as a member of the South Carolina Bar House of Delegates, served on the South Carolina Bar Board of Governors, served as a member of the Family Law Task Force for the South Carolina Bar and has spoken at numerous CLE's.
Judge Snelgrove was a member of the South Carolina Association of Justice, Family Law Section Council and served as its Chair in the late 1990's. She was included in The Best Lawyers in America for 2006 - 2010. She assisted in writing the Family Law Tool Kit (2003 and 2010 editions). While serving on the Family Law Section Council, Judge Snelgrove assisted in developing the current Financial Declaration.
As a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, she served as Vice-Chair of the congregation, participated in a mission trip to Haiti and currently serves on the Social Concerns Committee.
Judge Snelgrove is married to Von Pope Snelgrove of Lexington County. They have two daughters; Beverly and Leigh.
S.C. Family Court
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