Event Information

The Honorable Heather R. Galvin

Beaufort County Probate Court 

Judge Heather Galvin graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science where she was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and the Delta Zeta Sorority. She obtained her Juris Doctor from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University and is admitted to the practice of law in Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington D.C. 

Prior to moving to South Carolina; she worked for LexisNexis as an Applications Consultant and Senior Legal Research Associate. Upon relocating to South Carolina, Judge Galvin served as an Assistant Solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit. In 2007, she opened the Law Offices of Heather Galvin focusing on the areas of family and probate law. As part of her practice, she had the opportunity to serve as part-time Staff Attorney for the Beaufort County Probate Court; contract attorney for the Guardian ad litem programs in Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper Counties in abuse and neglect proceedings involving children; and pro-bono Special Prosecutor in Beaufort County for animal cruelty cases.  

In October of 2012, she was sworn in as full-time Associate Probate Judge for Beaufort County where she served until her election as Probate Judge in 2023.  She is the Second Vice President of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges and a member of the Executive Committee of the National College of Probate Judges. 

In her spare time, she enjoys jogging, swimming, Pilates, and tennis. 

Hon. James J. Wegmann

 S.C. Master-In-Equity

Judge Wegmann attended the University of Texas at Austin on a Naval ROTC Scholarship and upon graduation, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.  During his tenure in the Marine Corps, Jim MongoWegmann served as an A6E Intruder Bombardier Navigator with VMA(AW)-121 and VMA(AW)-242.  While serving in the Marine Corps, he applied for and was accepted into the Marine Corps Funded Law Education Program.  Judge Wegmann attended Oklahoma City University School of Law and graduated Magna Cum Laude.  After graduation, he performed legal duties as a Marine Corps Judge Advocate in a variety of billets to include Chief Legal Assistance Officer, Senior Defense Counsel, Special Assistant US Attorney, Civil Law, and Director of the Tax Center.

Judge Wegmann has been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 1994, United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces since 1996, the South Carolina Bar since 1997, and the United States District Court, District of South Carolina since 1998. 

Judge Wegmann is married to Connie Wegmann, and they have two sons, Joshua and Christopher, and two grandchildren, Rylee and Walter.

Laurel R.S. Blair
Womble Bond Dickinson (US), LLP

Laurel R.S. Blair, Esq. is a partner based in the Charleston, South Carolina office of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, a transatlantic law firm with offices across the U.K. and U.S. Laurel is a strategic advisor and litigator with over 25 years of experience representing professional fiduciaries and other clients exclusively in the trusts and estates, private wealth and wealth management areas. 

She is a certified mediator, and is admitted to the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, U.S. Court of Appeals (Fourth Circuit) and all South Carolina state courts. She received her B.A. degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and received her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law in New York. 

Matthew B. Edwards

Thomas, Fisher & Edwards, P.A. 

As a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law and a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law, Matt Edwards is one of only 17 attorneys in South Carolina who is dual certified. Matt became a principal at Thomas, Fisher & Edwards in 2015, the same year Greenville Business Magazine© first recognized him as a Legal Elite of the Upstate. He has received this honor every year since. 

In addition, Matt has been honored by The Best Lawyers in America® every year since 2019. His focus areas include taxation, business formation and commercial law, complex estate planning, probate and trust law, business sales, mergers and acquisitions, and non-profit/charities law. For his work in tax law, The Best Lawyers in America named Matt the Lawyer of the Yearin Greenville, South Carolina in 2022. 

He has served as a board member of the Taxation Law Specialization Advisory Board of the Supreme Court of South Carolina; as a council member of the tax section of the South Carolina Bar Association, where he is an ongoing member; and in multiple positions including President on the Greenville Estate Planning Council. Matt also works closely with the Greenville County Bar Association and the Greenville Estate Planning Study Group. He has been published multiple times in SC Lawyer magazine and presented on tax and estate planning topics at the 2023 South Carolina Bar Convention Continuing Education seminar.

Matt's expertise extends beyond his private practice and professional affiliations to the Greenville community. He has fulfilled multiple roles with the Christian Learning Centers of Greenville County, the Neighborhood Cancer Connection (formerly the Cancer Society of Greenville County), and the Greenville Rotary Club.

•  Current member over the last 20+ years and past Chairman of the Professional Responsibility Committee of the South Carolina Bar Association.
• Member of a 2018 Professional Responsibility Subcommittee studying and making recommendations for changes to a number of the of the ABA 20/20 Model Rules of Professional Responsibility.
• Member of the 2018 South Carolina Bar Professional Responsibility Lawyer-to-Lawyer Dispute Subcommittee.
• Member of the 2017/2018 South Carolina Bar Professional Responsibility Technology Subcommittee reviewing rules related to attorney competency, and the emerging risks involved in using modern technology.
• Member of the Board of Governors of the South Carolina Bar Association from 2006-2009.
• Member of the 2002-2005 Professional Responsibility Subcommittee studying and recommending changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers.
• Member of a South Carolina Bar Committee that worked in conjunction with The South Carolina Supreme Court, as well as its own commission pertaining to the new Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers, which became effective on October 1, 2005.
• Member of the South Carolina Supreme Court's Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization from 1998 until 2004; a commission which oversees the required continuing legal education requirements for South Carolina attorneys in addition to specialization programs for attorneys in South Carolina. From 2002-2004, Michael served as Secretary of the Commission.

S. Leslie McIntosh is a partner with McIntosh Sherard & Sullivan, located in Anderson. She earned her Juris Doctor from Charleston School of Law in 2013. She earned a B.S. in Business Administration – Marketing and a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2006. She is admitted to practice law in South Carolina. Leslie’s practice focuses primarily on probate, estate planning, trusts, and elder law.

Leslie serves in a number of capacities with the South Carolina Bar, including, but not limited to, being a member of the House of Delegates, the Nominating Committee, the SC Probate Planning, Estate and Trust Section Council, and the Commission on Judicial Conduct. She serves as the Chair of the Conventions Committee. She is a Past President of the Anderson County Bar Association. She was awarded with the America Bar Association’s YLD’s 2023 Top 40 On the Rise award, the South Carolina Bar YLD 2021-2022 Grady B. Anthony Public Service Award, the 2022 ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award by the Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce and was selected as Anderson’s 2022 Top 20 Under 40 for her service to her community. Leslie was selected as the 2020 South Carolina Women Lawyers Association Emerging Leader. She is a graduate of Leadership South Carolina and Leadership Anderson.