Event Information

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.

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.

Judge Jarrett graduated from Williamsburg Academy in 1985. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wofford College in 1989. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1992.

After graduating from law school, Judge Jarrett moved back to his hometown of Kingstree, South Carolina. He is the former managing partner of Jenkinson, Jarrett and Kellahan, P.A. He spent his 28 years practicing primarily family law. He was selected by his peers as one of the Super Lawyers by Super Lawyer magazine in 2020.

Judge Jarrett has served on the Williamsburg County Bar Association, the Georgetown County Bar Association, the South Carolina Association for Justice, the Family Law Section Council of the South Carolina Bar, the Supreme Court Commission on Docketing – Family Court Committee, the South Carolina Bench-Bar Committee, and the South Carolina Bar Resolution of Fee Disputes Board. In 2018 – 2019, Judge Jarrett was the Chairperson of the Family Law Section Council of the South Carolina Bar.

Judge Jarrett is actively involved in his community. He has been President of Kingstree Rotary, served on the Williamsburg County First Steps Board, and served on the Tri-County Regional Development Board. He is an active member of Kingstree United Methodist Church.

Judge Ernest J. Jarrett was elected to fill the term of the Honorable Gordon B. Jenkinson who retired.

Mr. James T. McLaren maintains a statewide family law practice emphasizing complex marital litigation in Columbia, South Carolina.  He is a partner in the law firm of McLaren & Lee.  He has served the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in various capacities since becoming a Fellow, including National President in 2015.  He received the AAML Fellow of the Year from the Academy in 2007 and the AAML Professionalism Award in 2020.  He serves on various Academy Committees.  He has served on the Board of the AAML Foundation, where he currently serves on the Advisory Board.  For the South Carolina Chapter of the Academy, he has served as President and National Delegate.  He is a Diplomate of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers and currently serves on the Executive Committee.  He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. He is currently the South Carolina Chapter President for the International Network of Boutique Law Firms.  He currently serves on the South Carolina Bar Family Law Council and was appointed to the President’s Task Force on Alimony.  Mr. McLaren has been named in the Best Lawyers in America, Family Law Designation, since 1993, received an “AV” designation from Martindale Hubbell since 1996, and has been named in the South Carolina Super Lawyers publication since 2008. He is a contributing author to the South Carolina Equitable Apportionment Act (§20-7-741, et. seq., S.C. Code of Laws) and the South Carolina Alimony Statute (§20-3-130, South Carolina Code of Laws). Mr. McLaren received his undergraduate degree (1973) from the University of South Carolina and Juris Doctorate degree (1976) from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  He was admitted to practice in 1976 and has maintained a private practice in Columbia, South Carolina since that time.  He is also admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, U.S. District Court, South Carolina District, and the U.S. Supreme Court.  He is a frequent speaker on various family law topics for the South Carolina Bar, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, American Bar Association, South Carolina Association for Justice and Mandatory Judicial and Continuing Legal Education Seminars. He has been a faculty member of the ABA/NITA Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute, offered annually in Boulder, Colorado.   

Jonathan W. Lounsberry joined KD Trial Lawyers in 2021 and is a member of the firm’s family law team. As a Fellow in the International Academy of Family Lawyers and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, his has extensive experience in complex family court litigation and international family law issues, with a particular focus on international child abduction and cross-border custody issues pursuant to the 1980 Hague Convention. 

Jonathan received a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of South Carolina (2006) and his J.D. from the Charleston School of Law (2009). He is admitted to practice in South Carolina, the District of South Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has authored and co-authored articles regarding the practice of family law and the use of technology in litigation for the South Carolina Lawyer, the ABA Section of Family Law’s Family Advocate, the ABA Section of Litigation’s Family Law Litigation Newsletter, and the International Academy of Family Lawyers’ Online News.  Jonathan is also the Principal Editor of the South Carolina Children’s Law Resource Manual (2014) and Co-Author of Family Law Essentials: A Primer for Private Practice Before the Family Court in South Carolina (2018), both publications of the SC Bar CLE Division.

Krystal is the President and CEO of Project R.E.S.T. a 501(c)(3) domestic violence and sexual assault agency providing shelter, personal and legal advocacy as well as therapy services to victims in Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties. 

Krystal previously worked as a Staff Attorney at Project R.E.S.T. while operating her law practice, K. LAWS, LLC, a Real Estate, Family Law, and Estate Planning law firm she founded in 2020. 

Krystal obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Norfolk State University and earned her Juris Doctor degree from Western Michigan University, Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Krystal is licensed to practice law in both South Carolina and Michigan.  

Prior to opening her law practice, K. LAWS, LLC, Krystal served as the Managing Attorney at South Carolina Legal Services, Inc. in Spartanburg, and Rock Hill.  As a civil legal aid attorney, Krystal devoted her legal career to representing low-income families, victims of domestic violence and senior citizens in civil matters such as divorces, custody disputes, adoptions, as well as defending evictions, foreclosures, and other property disputes. 

Over the years, Krystal has volunteered as a speaker for the SC Bar’s Law School for Non-Lawyer’s program as well as other legal clinics and educational series offered to the public by the South Carolina Bar. Krystal is very passionate about ensuring equal access to civil legal assistance for all South Carolinians. 

Krystal currently serves on the SC Bar Board of Governors, At-Large Member, and has served on the SC Bar House of Delegates, for the 7^th Circuit, since 2020.