Event Information

Chandra Austin Stallworth joined Richardson Plowden in the Columbia office as an associate attorney in 2021. Mrs. Stallworth focuses her practice in General Litigation and Employment Law.  

Mrs. Stallworth earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Charleston School of Law in December 2018. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Work and Human Resource Education in May 2009 and her Master of Education in Business and Industry Education in August 2007 from the University of Minnesota. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Graphic Communication Systems in December 2005 from the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.  

Prior to joining Richardson Plowden, Mrs. Stallworth worked as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Jocelyn Newman. Prior to that, she was a law clerk for Richland County School District One. Before starting her legal career, Mrs. Stallworth taught for four years at Auburn University with the Honors College. Additionally, she held research fellowships at Utah State University and The University of Minnesota. She is a member of the South Carolina Bar, Richland County Bar Association, Education Law Association, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, and the SC Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association.

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.

Mr. Matthews is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Specialist in Employment & Labor Law.  He is also a certified mediator, and often mediates employment claims. 

From April 2000 to March 2004, Mr. Matthews was General Counsel and Deputy Director for the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS).  From 1999 to 2000, he was Deputy Director for Labor at the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation (LLR).  Prior to state service, from 1995 to 1999, Mr. Matthews practiced law with Kilpatrick Stockton, L.L.P. 

Mr. Matthews has previously served as the Chairman of the South Carolina Bar’s Employment & Labor Law Section, and has also served on the Employment & Labor Law Specialization Advisory Board of the S.C. Commission on CLE and Specialization.  He is a member of the South Carolina Bar and North Carolina Bar 

Mr. Matthews received a B.A. summa cum laude from Furman University, an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.  Prior to attending law school, Mr. Matthews served with the Central Intelligence Agency.  In 2019, he retired as a Captain from the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Grant Burnette LeFever is an attorney with Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA, in Columbia, SC, where she focuses her legal practice on employment law, including a range of civil rights and discrimination issues. She also practices family law and education law, including issues involving Title IX, special education, school discipline and teacher employment issues.  

Grant is a 2018 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. Prior to law school, Grant earned a master’s degree in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor’s degree in English and History from Presbyterian College. 

Grant has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, 2021 to present, in the fields of labor and employment law, civil rights law, education law, family law, and litigation. She also has been recognized in Super Lawyers Rising Stars and Legal Elite of the Midlands. Most recently, Grant was profiled by the National Law Journal as a 2023 Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazer for her work in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. South Carolina. 

Paul Porter is a employee-side employment law and business litigation lawyer at Cromer, Babb, Porter & Hicks, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina. 

Paul is from Greenville, South Carolina. He went to college at Presbyterian College (go Blue Hose!) and law school at the University of South Carolina.

He is the current chair of the employment law section of the South Carolina Association of Justice. Paul was awarded the young lawyer award by ABOTA in 2016 in recognition of his aptitude as a young trial lawyer and he has been honored as legal elite in employment law and business litigation for both Columbia and Greenville several times. Paul is a certified specialist in South Carolina Employment and Labor Law.Paul became a fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2024. He's a "super lawyer" and also a super good guy.

Paul lives in Columbia with his wife Ashley and dog Snoopy. He loves practicing law, but would rather be skiing, working out, or drinking a cold beer in the warm sun. 

Jack E. Cohoon is a partner at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, P.A. He focuses his legal practice on employment law. Prior to joining the firm in January 2020, Jack worked as a legal aid attorney at South Carolina Legal Services for nearly 14 years, where he focused primarily on employment-related legal issues affecting low-income South Carolinians. He is the recipient of Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent Rating, the Richland County Bar’s Civic Star Award for community involvement, and the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission’s Ellen Hines Smith Legal Services Attorney of the Year Award.

Jack is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. He holds a Bachelors degree in History and Political Science from the University of Georgia. When not practicing law, Jack hikes, bikes, and camps with his family and volunteers as a scout leader with his sons’ scout troop.

Tara Nixon graduated from Augusta State University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in History and a minor in Political Science. Prior to graduating from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2014, she served in executive positions with a variety of non-profit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and the University Hospital Foundation, and taught middle school English. Following law school, Tara served as a Staff Attorney for the South Carolina Supreme Court before transitioning to a private defense firm where she practiced in the areas of labor and employment law, municipal law, and education law. In 2016, she joined the South Carolina School Boards Association as Staff Attorney, where she provided policy and legal services to South Carolina’s school districts and frequently presented on topics including a wide variety of employment law issues, FOIA, the South Carolina Ethics Act, and Roberts Rules of Order. She obtained a master’s degree in Political Management with a concentration in Advocacy Politics from The George Washington University in 2019. Tara worked for the South Carolina Administrative Law Court as a Staff Attorney, and currently serves as Assistant Labor Counsel for the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation. She is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association’s Administrative Law Committee, teaches yoga, and enjoys spending time with her three rescue pit bull terriers.