Event Information

Barbara A. Drayton, Esquire is the deputy general counsel at the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE), Office of General Counsel (OGC). Ms. Drayton's areas of practice are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and other disability and civil rights laws related to the education of students with disabilities; the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); school-based Medicaid and health services; medical homebound instruction; private and home school related issues; alternative schools; the educational rights of students placed or referred by state agencies in foster care, group homes, residential treatment facilities, and other out of home placements; and other education matters. Ms. Drayton supervises the state's special education due process and mediation processes, and provides technical assistance to school districts, state agencies, parents, and other constituents and entities across the state on education-related issues.

Prior to joining the SCDE, Ms. Drayton was employed with the Eighth Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office as a deputy solicitor.

Ms. Drayton received her BA in political science from the University of South Carolina and a JD degree from the University of South Carolina, School of Law.

Member of the SC Bar, including the Children's Law and Education Law Committees.

Licensed to practice in Federal District Court, before the 4th Circuit of Appeals, and before the Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service.
 

Bronte M. Anelli – Bronte Anelli is the Special Education Lead Attorney for South Carolina Legal Services where she currently represents low-income persons by providing free legal assistance and representation. She is licensed in both South Carolina and DC. She mainly practices in Education, Family, Housing and Employment law. She has worked at Legal Services since being admitted into the South Carolina Bar in May 2018 and has fought relentlessly to ensure all persons voices are heard by providing quality representation. She holds a law degree from Elon University School of Law in Greensboro, NC, and a double major in Political Science and History with a minor in Educational Policy from Pennsylvania State University. Currently Bronte is a member of the Education Law Committee with the South Carolina Bar and a member of the South Carolina Family Law American Inn of Courts. When she is not working, she enjoys cooking, traveling, reading, and crafts.  

Elliott is the Education Unit Head and LEP Staff Attorney at South Carolina Legal Services in Charleston, SC. He attended law school at the University of South Carolina and graduated in 2012. Somehow, he's been practicing law for 11 years, which he has done exclusively with South Carolina Legal Services. Prior to law school, Elliott worked for two years with a non-profit in Bolivia, South America. He is fluent in Spanish, proficient at walking, and incompetent at knowing when he's annoying people. His practice includes education cases (including special education and discipline), divorce and custody actions, and simple immigration petitions for survivors of crime.  

James L. Bell is the founder and senior partner in THE BELL LAW FIRM, P.A., formerly Bell, Thames, Strait & McCall, with offices in Charleston, SC and Jacksonville, Florida.  His practice includes federal civil trial law, tort litigation, medical malpractice litigation, personal injury, arbitration and mediation and international law. 

Mr. Bell has been a member of The Florida Bar for over thirty years (past member of the Professional Ethics Committee) and the South Carolina Bar (past member of the Ethics Advisory Committee). He has also been a member of the Federal Bar Association, the American Association of Justice  and has is a past Board Member and President  for the Florida Legal Services, Inc; and has served on the Florida Bar Foundation Board of Governors. He was honored as one of America's Most Honored Lawyers in 2020. ( The America Registry)

Mr. Bell is a member of the United States Supreme Court; Florida Supreme Court; United States Tax Court; United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals of Richmond, VA; United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans, LA; Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta, GA; United States District Court, Southern District of Florida; United States District Court, Middle District of Florida; United States District Court, Northern District of Florida.

Mr. Bell has an extensive history of community and Bar volunteer services. He was admitted to the Pro Bono Honor Roll by the Supreme Court of South Carolina on March 3, 2021. His community volunteer services include assisting with the Boys Club, the YMCA and the Red Cross during several disasters and hurricanes. He volunteered to give free insurance coverage advice in Fort Lauderdale after recent hurricanes and has assisted legal service agencies with state and federal civil ligation matters. He currently is a member of the Alternate Dispute Section of the Florida Bar and is a volunteer with Florida Free Legal Answers project sponsored by the American Bar Association.
He has written numerous legal articles for the Florida Bar, the South Carolina Bar and other professional publications and has also participated in Continuing Legal Education seminars over the last 25 years in California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, the latest being "Ethics and professionalism" E.U. Attorneys, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Sept. 16, 2023,SC Bar "Hot Topics"Ethics Seminar, Legal Ethics,February 22, 2023: "Professionalism  of  an Attorney,"Annual Florida Bar Convention. June 5, 2022,  Attorney Fees and Client Funds," National Business Institute (NBI), February, 21, 2020, and several medical-legal issue seminars, including "Medical Records Seminar HIPPA Regulations, " in Charleston, South Carolina and Miami, FL. (April, 2009) and HIPPA Medical Documentation Requirements in Florida, Lorman, Publication #483579. He has continually participated in CLE seminars during entire his legal career.  Mr. Bell received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina.
 

Alex Sherard has a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina (2012) and a J.D. from the Charleston School of Law (2016).  He is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the Richland County Bar Association, and the SCSBA Council of School Attorneys (COSA). Alex is admitted to practice before all courts of the state of South Carolina, the U.S. District Court District of South Carolina, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Alex’s practice focuses on all areas of school law with an emphasis on procurement, civil rights, employment and tort litigation in state and federal court, policy development, executive searches and contract negotiation, board governance, and the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.  He also presents to professional educator groups and legal associations and provides in-service training to education professionals across the state. 

Alex is a product of the South Carolina public school system. After graduating from Abbeville High School in 2008, he attended the University of South Carolina as a Palmetto Fellow and Carolina Scholar.

In law school, Alex was the Symposium Editor for the Federal Courts Law Review and Investigations Chairperson on the student-led Honor Council.  As a student, Alex was a law clerk at E. Bart Daniel Attorney at Law where he gained experience in the areas of white collar criminal defense. He also worked for The Honorable J. Michelle Childs at the U.S. District Court District of South Carolina.

Lindsay Joyner is a partner in Gallivan White Boyd’s Charleston and Columbia, South Carolina, offices.  She received a BBA cum laude, with honors in Economics from the University of Georgia, a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law, and an I.M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina, Darla Moore School of Business. Following law school and before joining GWB, she enjoyed her time as a staff attorney for the Supreme Court of South Carolina. She recently celebrated ten years at GWB. Currently, her practice places an emphasis on probate and trust litigation and complex business and commercial litigation, including financial institution litigation and professional negligence. She regularly handles matters concerning contractual disputes, business torts, shareholder disputes, and other complex litigation arising out of business transactions. Lindsay also dedicates a portion of her practice to legal malpractice defense. Lindsay has presented matters in these practice areas before both state and federal courts. 

Lindsay appreciates that client service is equally as important as legal skills and knowledge. As a result, Lindsay makes client expectations and satisfaction a central point of her practice. She takes great effort to be accommodating and communicative with her clients at all times. 

Outside of her practice, Lindsay is very active with the South Carolina Bar and the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.  She was recently sworn in as the chair of the South Carolina Bar’s House of Delegates, a position she will hold until 2024, and she is the chair-elect of the Bar’s Trial and Appellate Advocacy Council. She is a past president of the South Carolina Bar’s Young Lawyers Division and past chair of the South Carolina Bar’s Wellness Committee. Lindsay also served as a Co-Vice Coordinator for ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Fit2Practice initiative during the 2018-2019 year. Lindsay has also held numerous positions with community organizations. For her work for the profession and for the community, Lindsay was honored to receive the ABA’s On The Rise, Top 40 Young Lawyers; the Columbia Metropolitan Magazine’s Capital Young Professional of the Year, and she was part of the Lawyers’ Weekly’s 2018 Leadership in the Law class. Lindsay has also been consistently recognized by Best Lawyers and as a Super Lawyers Rising Star.

Lindsay is passionate about health and fitness, having taught a variety of group fitness classes for almost a decade prior to going into private practice. She remains a big proponent of group fitness, running, yoga, and Pilates as a means for mindfulness, stress management, and mental health as well as overall physical wellbeing. 

Wade's practice centers on advising educational institutions and employers of all types in navigating complex legal problems. His career handling litigation and appellate work informs the analysis he provides and facilitates his role as outside general counsel.

A former teacher, Wade leads Wyche's education law practice, providing guidance to secondary schools and institutions of higher education on policy and handbook reviews, student discipline and honor code matters, and regulatory compliance, including Title IX. Wade also leads Wyche's internal investigations group, helping clients promptly and efficiently collect facts and find solutions to a range of issues. Prior to joining Wyche, he graduated from the University of South Carolina Honors College and Duke University Law School and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ed Carnes on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Active in the community, he is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), a trustee of South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU), and serves on boards of numerous other nonprofit organizations. He also speaks frequently on education law topics and has made presentations to the South Carolina Council of School Attorneys, the South Carolina Independent School Association, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, and the North Carolina School Attorneys' Conference. 
 

Mr. Ganjehsani has been Chief Legal Counsel for the S.C. Technical College System since 2018. In this role, he furnishes guidance to the System's sixteen institutions on personnel matters, student affairs, contracts, and a wide array of higher education issues. He spent five years as an Assistant Attorney General for the S.C. Attorney General's Office, where his duties included representing government officials in court proceedings and advising the State Employee Grievance Committee during disciplinary appeal hearings. Mr. Ganjehsani was the S.C. Department of Public Safety's General Counsel from 2012 to 2017, during which time he managed all civil litigation for the state's largest law enforcement agency. Previously, he served as a Labor Attorney with the U.S. Army at Fort Jackson and was an associate with law firms in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charleston, S.C.

Mr. Ganjehsani is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He has been admitted to the S.C. Bar since 1999 and the State Bar of Georgia since 2002. He is a member of the S.C. Bar's House of Delegates and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.