Event Information

Brad Lanford
Miller, Dawson, Sigal & Ward, LLC

Brad was born and raised in the upstate of South Carolina. He is a dedicated advocate for injured plaintiffs, using his extensive experience in insurance defense to fight for those who need it most. He earned his Political Science degree from Winthrop University before attending the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he graduated in the top ten percent of his class and was a Merit Legal Scholarship recipient throughout law school. He also earned CALI Awards for Excellence in Torts II, Legal Accounting, and Antitrust.

Brad began his legal career at the South Carolina Supreme Court as a staff attorney while also teaching legal writing at his alma mater. He then spent over a decade as a partner in an insurance defense firm, representing major insurance companies in complex litigation. Through that work, Brad gained insider knowledge of how insurance companies operate, evaluate claims, and defend cases—experience he now uses to anticipate defense strategies and aggressively advocate for injured plaintiffs.

With more than 20 years of litigation experience, including numerous jury trials and appellate cases, Brad is committed to ensuring that insurance companies don’t take advantage of those who have been harmed. His transition to plaintiff advocacy was not just a career move but a decision to stand up for those who need a strong voice on their side.

Outside of work, Brad enjoys watching sports, playing golf, spending time with his wife Jenny and teenage children, and exploring Columbia where he has now lived for twenty-five years. A longtime movie buff, he’s always up for a great legal drama or classic 90’s film and everything in between.

Brad is thrilled to be fighting for plaintiffs, expanding the firm’s reach in the Midlands, and ensuring that those who have been injured receive the justice and compensation they deserve.

Education

• Winthrop University, B.A., Political Science, 1998
• USC School of Law, J.D., Cum Laude, 2002

Honors and Awards

• Order of the Coif
• Order of the Wig and Robe
• CALI Award, Torts II
• CALI Award, Antitrust
• CALI Award, Legal Accounting

Professional Organizations 

• South Carolina Bar
• Richland County Bar Association
• South Carolina Association of Justice
• American Association of Justice
• Torts and Insurance Practice Section (Past Chair)
• American Board of Trial Attorneys (ABOTA)

Speaking Engagements

• UIM Coverage and Trial Strategy
• Bad Faith – An Indelible Part of UM/UIM Practice
• Masters in Trial Seminar

Publications

• Pitfalls of the Underinsured Motorist Bad Faith Case, The Justice Bulletin, Winter 2021-22

Breon C.M. Walker earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a double major in marketing and management from the University of South Carolina Honors College in 2000. She earned her Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law in 2003, where she was the recipient of the Custer Tuggle Award for Excellence in Family Law.

Following her graduation from Emory, Breon clerked for Circuit Court Judge Reginald I. Lloyd in Columbia, S.C. She then practiced in both the civil and criminal divisions of the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General. Prior to joining The Stanley Law Group, Breon practiced with a large firm defending insurance carriers and their insureds in personal injury cases.

An experienced speaker, Breon has prepared and presented seminars to clients and colleagues on statutory compliance, case law developments and effective witness preparation.

Breon has been recognized by several organizations for her legal acumen including being recognized as a Super Lawyers “Rising Star” from 2012-2019 and a Super Lawyer from 2020-present.  In 2013, Breon was selected by the National Bar Association as one of the “Nation’s Best Advocates: 40 Lawyers Under 40.”  Breon was also selected to the “Under 40 Hotlist” by Benchmark Litigation in 2016.  In 2020, Breon was named an Honoree of the South Carolina Leadership in Law Award by South Carolina Lawyers Weekly. 

Breon is an accomplished courtroom advocate with 15 years of experience as a trial lawyer.

Her areas of practice include:

Professional Memberships

• The South Carolina Bar
• President of the South Carolina Black Lawyers’ Association
• Richland County Bar Association (Co-Chair of the Young Lawyers’ Division from 2009-2014)
• South Carolina Association of Justice
• American Association for Justice
• Columbia (SC) Chapter of The Links, Inc
• Board of Directors of the 701 Center for Contemporary Art – Secretary
• Richland-Lexington Airport Commission
• Leadership Columbia (Class of 2011)

In 2000, Judge Clifton Newman was elected to the South Carolina Circuit Court by the South Carolina General Assembly and he has served continuously since. He has served as the Presiding Judge over the Multi-Week Trial Docket for South Carolina, a specialized docket of complex construction and other multi-week cases. He is a Business Court Judge. He has been appointed by the South Carolina Supreme Court to serve as Presiding Judge and as Special Referee in several complex civil and criminal cases.

Judge Newman is a member of the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Profession, the South Carolina Commission on Judicial Conduct and the South Carolina Circuit Court Advisory Committee. He is a past President of the American College of Business Court Judges and he has served as Co-Chair of the Judges Initiative Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Judge Newman is Chairperson of the South Carolina Civil Rules Committee, a member of the South Carolina Judicial Council, and the John Belton O’Neal Inn of Court where he is a member of the mentoring team.

He recently became an Adjunct Professor at the USC School of Law where he teaches Trial Advocacy.

Jessica O’Neill Gooding grew up in Conway, South Carolina, a small town where high school football games were important community events and people could be counted on to help their neighbors. After high school, Jess attended University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. Jess graduated in 2010 with highest honors as a summa cum laude graduate and with an honors degree from the South Carolina honors college. 

Jess then attended University of South Carolina School of Law and earned her Juris Doctorate with high honors, magna cum laude, in 2013. While in law school, Jess served as a Peer Mentor, a Law School Ambassador, and the Symposium Editor for the South Carolina Law Review. Jess was inducted into both of the School of Law’s prestigious honor societies, the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Wig and Robe. 

Immediately following graduation, Jess joined a Columbia firm and began practicing with the Employment and Personal Injury Litigation teams. Jess had the opportunity to represent clients in state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies at the state and federal level. She served as a first chair trial attorney in personal injury cases even in those early years of practice. In 2016, Jess joined Goings Law Firm, where she has continued to build on her courtroom and trial experience, both through formal training and by representing clients in various types of trials. She has been recognized as an up-and-coming trial attorney by Columbia Business Monthly and Super Lawyers Magazines, among other accolades. 

Jess is active in the community and the profession, and she has served on several committees in South Carolina Bar’s Young Lawyer Division. She stays connected to the law school by working closely with student organizations and serving as an attorney mentor to first year law students each year. Jess is also the Chair of the Membership Committee for the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association and has served on the Editorial Board for the Richland County Bar Newsletter. 

Jess’s husband, Ben, is also an attorney. They have two children and two Labrador Retrievers, who keep them busy! When away from the office, Jess and Ben enjoy attending college football games, cooking, and entertaining friends. Whenever they can, the Goodings enjoy traveling to a family farm in Georgia — who doesn’t love a good tractor ride, after all? 

• South Carolina Bar
• U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

• University of South Carolina School Law, J.D., 2005
• South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business
• Phi Alpha Delta
• Erskine College, B.A,  Psychology, 2002