Event Information

Bryan Kelley

Elmore Goldsmith Kelley & deHoll, PA

Bryan represents a wide range of general contractors, subcontractors, developers, and surety companies in North and South Carolina. He primarily practices in the areas of construction law and surety claims and disputes. Bryan's experience includes assisting clients with claim avoidance strategies, mechanic's liens, bond claims, payment claims, defect litigation, insurance coverage, scheduling and delay issues, and change order disputes. 

He is a former Chairman of the Construction Section Council of the South Carolina Bar and has served as a lecturer on a variety of construction topics for legal and industry groups including Carolinas Associated General Contractors. He is a co-author of the South Carolina Construction Law Deskbook, published by the Construction Law Section of the South Carolina Bar, and regularly presents the South Carolina Construction Law Update at the Construction Section's annual meeting.

Bryan is rated "AV" preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.  He has been named to "The Best Lawyers in America" for Construction Law and Construction Litigation in South Carolina and Lawyer of the Year for Construction Litigation (Greenville) by Best Lawyers.  He has also been recognized among the "Legal Elite" by Greenville Business Magazine for Construction Law.  Bryan holds an undergraduate degree from Wofford College and attended law school at the University of South Carolina. 

Caleb M. Riser

Richardson Plowden & Robinson, PA

Caleb is a shareholder with the law firm of Richardson Plowden & Robinson, P.A., where he focuses his practice on construction law although he also practices in general litigation, professional liability and utility litigation. Mr. Riser is admitted to practice in South Carolina; and before the U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina; U.S. Court of Federal Claims; and U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. 

He is a member of the South Carolina Bar (Construction Law Section, including its Section Council), American Institute of Architects, Richland County Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association, Defense Research Institute, American Bar Association, and The Jefferson Society, Inc. 

Mr. Riser earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree, cum laude, from the University of Tennessee; his J.D. degree from Regent University School of Law; and studied abroad at Crakow University of Technology, Crakow, Poland (including award for most outstanding design). He is also a certified document technician (CDT). 

Christy Mahon is the Chair of the South Carolina Bar Construction Law Section. She has been the past Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Section Delegate for the South Carolina Bar Construction Law Section. She has been named to the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly "Power List" for Construction Law. She is a member of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association, and the Defense Research Institute. Christy has been recognized as a "Super Lawyer" and a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers® (see Methodology). She is a member of the FDCC. 

Christy's practice areas include construction law, products liability, general insurance defense, premises liability, insurance coverage litigation, and appellate advocacy. Prior to joining the firm, she was a staff attorney for the Supreme Court of South Carolina. She is a summa cum laude graduate from both undergraduate and law school. She was external editor and articles editor for the Law Review, recipient of the Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award, and recipient of the Corpus Juris Secundum Awards in Contracts, Property, Civil Procedure, and Torts.

Christy is a certified mediator.

Christy grew up in Cheraw, South Carolina. She is involved in children's and nursing home ministries.  She also volunteers with a nonprofit organization that assists the elderly, underprivileged children, and the physically and mentally disabled. 

EDUCATION

B.A., Francis Marion University?

• Summa Cum Laude

J.D., Regent University Law School

• Summa Cum Laude

PRACTICE AREAS

Construction Defect Litigation

Insurance Coverage Litigation

Premises Liability

General Insurance Defense

Appellate Advocacy

Product Liability

FORMER/CURRENT INDUSTRY MEMBERSHIPS

Richland County Bar

South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association

Defense Research Institute

FDCC

BAR ADMISSIONS

South Carolina

U.S. District Court--District of South Carolina

HONORS AND AWARDS

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Construction "Power List" Honoree, 2024 (see Methodology)

Named a 2024 “Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers® (see Methodology)

Regent University Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award

Corpus Juris Secundum Awards in Contracts, Property, Civil Procedure, and Torts

Elizabeth Wieters is a Partner at the Charleston, South Carolina office of Hall, Booth, Smith, PC. She focuses her practice on insurance coverage and construction litigation. Elizabeth represents insurance carriers as their coverage counsel under various lines of insurance. She handles complex matters that implicate coverage defenses. She also represents insurer clients in declaratory judgment actions in state and federal court and defends insurance carriers in coverage litigation. Elizabeth represents general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, owners, sureties, and design professionals in the context of construction litigation. She has been involved in all phases of resolving construction conflicts, from pre-suit payment dispute workouts to multiparty, complex construction defect litigation.

Elizabeth has been practicing law in the Lowcountry over a decade. Prior to joining HBS, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Steven H. John in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina and as an intern to the Honorable David C. Norton in United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Originally from Greenville, SC, Elizabeth attended The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science. She received her J.D. from the Charleston School of Law in 2009. While in law school, she served as the Articles Editor for Federal Courts Law Review and as the Development Editor for MALABU, the Maritime Law Bulletin.

Admitted

State Courts:

• South Carolina, 2009
• Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

U.S. District Courts:

• U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

U.S. Courts of Appeals:

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Education

• J.D., Charleston School of Law, 2009
• B.A., Political Science, The University of the South, 2004

Memberships

• Atlanta Surety Claims Association
• Charleston County Bar Association
• DRI
• South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association

Recognition

• The Best Lawyers in America®, Best Lawyers®, 2024-2026
• Awarded in: Construction Law, Insurance Law, and Litigation – Insurance
• Legal Elite, Insurance Law; Charleston Business Magazine; 2020-2022, 2024

Publications

• South Carolina Court of Appeals Gives Insurance Company a Reprieve when Complying with a Time-Demand
  HBS National Insurance Coverage Blog; July 7, 2023
• Fourth Circuit Says Lack of Time to Investigate a Claim Can Create an Objectively Reasonable Basis for an Insurer to Refuse a Settlement Demand
  HBS National Insurance Coverage Blog; June 28, 2021

Frank E. Grimball joined Richardson Plowden in 2024 in the Charleston office. He focuses his practice in general litigation. Prior to joining Richardson Plowden, Mr. Grimball practiced law in Charleston, South Carolina for nearly 40 years. During law school, he clerked for the Honorable Robert F. Chapman of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Chief Justice Bruce Littlejohn of the South Carolina Supreme Court, and Judge Robert W. Hemphill of the Federal District Court.

Mr. Grimball is a member of the Society of the Cincinnati (General Society) and the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of South Carolina, where he served as president from 2014-15 and from 2016-19. He served as Treasurer of the General Society from 2019-22. He currently serves as the Secretary of the General Society for a term from 2022-25. He has previously served on the Executive Committee of the Charleston County Bar Association. He is also a member of the South Carolina Bar. 

Ian handles litigation involving areas of construction law, products liability, fire and explosion cases, personal injury, real property, contract disputes, insurance coverage and homeowners’ associations.  In addition to litigating cases, Ian counsels businesses, contractors, and homeowners’ associations, including negotiating, preparing, and reviewing contracts and providing advice on the full array of legal issues confronting them. Ian, his wife Lucy, son West, and daughter Louise live in Charleston.

AREAS OF PRACTICE:
Construction litigation, Commercial Litigation, Business and Contract Litigation,  Insurance coverage, Products Liability, Personal Injury Litigation, Construction,  Property Owners Associations, and Contract Drafting.

EDUCATION:
Washington & Lee University, B.A., Cum Laude, 1991
University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D., Magna Cum Laude, 1997

BAR ADMISSIONS:
South Carolina
California
United States District Court for the District of South Carolina
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
United States District Court for the Central District of California
United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

HONORS:
Order of the Coif
Society of the Wig and Robe

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP:
South Carolina Bar Association
The State Bar of California
American Bar Association
Charleston County Bar Association

Josh graduated from Virginia Tech in 2000 with a BS in Finance. After five years in sales and management with national software companies, he entered law school in 2005, graduating from the Charleston School of Law in 2008. Josh joined a local law firm as a clerk during law school, and stayed with the firm as an attorney after graduation. After sixteen years of practice, including representation of homeowners and homeowners associations in construction defect suits and local businesses in various disputes, Josh opened his own firm. 

Josh has handled and tried to verdict cases ranging from single family disputes to two-hundred unit condominium developments, as well as business disputes, with verdicts exceeding fifty million dollars.

Josh applies his experience in sales and management, and his education in business, to advise his clients. 

Josh resides in Mr. Pleasant with his wife, Chassity, and their two teenagers. Outside of work, Josh enjoys traveling, cheering on his Virginia Tech Hokies and Washington Commanders, and watching his children's lacrosse games.

Josh is a litigator and certified circuit court mediator with a statewide practice, devoting the majority of his litigation practice to the construction industry.  He currently serves as the Chair-Elect for the Construction Law Section of the South Carolina Bar and frequently represents contractors, developers, design professionals, and construction product manufacturers in complicated disputes and litigation.  Josh has handled multiple class actions in state and federal court and has successfully defeated class certification.  Josh also has extensive experience representing insurance carriers directly, both advising on coverage issues and bringing and defending coverage litigation.  Outside the construction context, Josh has defended a wide variety of professional liability matters, including representing attorneys who served as class counsel in underlying class actions.

Committed to his profession and his community, Josh regularly volunteers his time to a variety of causes and initiatives.  Josh has served as pro-bono special prosecutor for the South Carolina Attorney General's office, and he has served on the SC Bar's Judicial Qualifications Committee for most of his legal career.  He is the president of his church's governing board and has volunteered for a variety of SC Bar initiatives, including organizing donation drives for domestic violence shelters.

When not practicing law or volunteering in the community, Josh spends time with his wife and three children. He devotes a lot of time to attending youth soccer, t-ball, basketball, and ballet.  He has recently tried his hand at coaching youth soccer, which afforded a different perspective on the "art of persuasion" and has given him a lot of respect for the various coaches and mentors he has had throughout the years.  The experience has also reaffirmed to Josh that regardless of the challenge, maintaining a good attitude and hard work create a foundation for success.

Education
University of South Carolina School of Law
(magna cum laude), 2008

University of South Carolina Honors College
(magna cum laude), 2005

Bar and Court Admissions
South Carolina State Bar

United States District Court District of South Carolina

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

Honors:

Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2025 in the fields of Construction Law and Insurance Law
Selected to the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Power List for Construction Law, 2024
South Carolina Super Lawyers® Rising Star category, 2015 - 2018
Columbia Business Monthly, Legal Elite in the construction practice group, 2018
The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Award, Civil Procedure I, 2006
Order of the Barristers, Appellate Advocacy, 2006
 

Laura F. Locklair, Esq.

Boyle Leonard & Anderson, P.A.

Laura Locklair joined Boyle & Leonard, P.A. in 2017, and is the managing attorney of the firm's Charleston office.  Mrs. Locklair studied at the University of South Carolina School of Law where she was a member of the Order of the Wig and Robe.  After gaining admission to The South Carolina Bar in 2008, she began representing owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors, architects, and engineers in connection with design and construction defect litigation involving commercial properties and multi-family and single family residential dwellings.  

Mrs. Locklair also has experience representing companies, homeowners' associations, and property owners in personal injury cases arising out of alleged construction defects and industrial accidents, title insurance claims, and insurance disputes.  Mrs. Locklair now focuses her practice on the representation of policyholders relative to risk transfer issues in the commercial general liability context, insurance claim presentation, bad faith matters, and commercial and business litigation.

In 2015, Mrs. Locklair was nominated for and held a seat on the General Counsel Construction Law Section for the South Carolina Bar.  She was selected to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars for 2018, a peer designation awarded based on, among other cogent factors, professional achievement in legal practice.
Mrs. Locklair is originally from upstate South Carolina.  

In her spare time,  Laura enjoys running, reading, and spending time with her husband, Jason, and daughter, Gwen.
 

Maithilee K. Pathak, Ph.D., J.D.

R&D Strategic Solutions

Dr. Pathak has worked on civil cases involving issues of tort, contracts, product liability, and malpractice, as well as on civil and criminal cases relating to fraud, anti-trust, and domestic terrorism. She has delivered CLE presentations on a variety of topics including medical malpractice, employment law, and premises liability. Dr. Pathak has conducted research on human decision-making in law and policy arenas.

Recently, Dr. Pathak worked in conjunction with the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorney Association and The Hood Law Firm on Trial SuperstarsTM to conduct a demonstration mock trial in which top attorneys in the state battled on behalf of their clients in a medical malpractice case with a twist. CLE participants watched openings, witnesses, closings, and jury deliberations. Dr. Pathak used R&D’s real time response technology and online jury research tools to discuss what jurors thought was important and effective in the presentations, and how attorneys might hone their trial strategies in future cases.

Education

Ph.D. (Social Ecology); University of California Irvine

J.D., University of Nebraska – Lincoln

M.A. (Social Ecology); University of California Irvine

B.A. (Psychology); University of California Santa Cruz

Prior Experience

Senior Research Associate, DecisionQuest, Inc.

Consultant, Scientific Resources for the Law

Lecturer, Psychology and Law Department, University of Nebraska – Lincoln

Lecturer, School of Social Ecology, University of California – Irvine

Honors and awards

Phi Beta Kappa

National Institute of Mental Health Post-Doctoral Fellowship

National Science Foundation Dissertation Award

National Institute of Justice Dissertation Award

American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program

Professional Memberships

American Psychology Law Society

American Society of Criminology,

Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues?

Rick R. Fuentes, Ph.D.

R&D Strategic Solutions

Dr. Fuentes is a founding partner of R&D Strategic Solutions, LLC. He has specialized in jury behavior and decision-making and the evaluation of complex evidence for more than 20 years. He has worked with trial teams on hundreds of civil and criminal cases involving issues of tort, contracts, anti-trust, intellectual property, product liability, and professional malpractice.

Through the use of focus groups, mock trials and surveys, he assists Trial Attorneys and in-house counsel in the development of persuasive jury messages and themes, witness preparation, jury selection and case valuation. He has provided testimony as an expert for change of venue motions. He has authored numerous professional articles on the topics of jury behavior and jury decision-making and he has appeared on numerous legal forums including CNN's Talk-Back Live, The Phil Donahue Show, and Court Television's series "The Art and Science of Jury Persuasion." He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and by NBC News.

Dr. Fuentes has been on the University of Montana Law School NITA Faculty where he lectured on jury selection and persuasion. He has delivered dozens of CLE programs around the country and is a regular speaker for the Georgia Institute of Continuing Legal Education, as well as at other local and National Bar Associations.

Education
Ph.D. (Applied Psychology); Texas A&M University
M.S. (Industrial/Organizational Psychology); Texas A&M University
M.Ed. (Counseling Psychology); University of Georgia
B.A. (Psychology/Business Administration); University of Georgia

Prior Experience
Vice President and Managing Director, DecisionQuest, Inc.
Managing Director, Litigation Sciences, Inc.
Instructor; Personnel/Human Resource Management, Georgia State University
Management Assessment Center, BellSouth
Program Development Manager, Coca-Cola Company
 

Taylor M. Morris

Hudson Lambert Parrot, LLC.

Taylor focuses his practice on construction litigation and transactions, contracts and commercial law. He has experience advising clients on litigation strategy and contract negotiations. He has represented clients in construction disputes involving construction defects and delay claims, professional negligence and mechanic's lien actions, including lawsuits involving multimillion-dollar damages that were successfully resolved with a jury verdict.

Taylor graduated summa cum laude from Charleston School of Law, where he served as a member of the Charleston Law Moot Court Board, and associate symposium editor of the Charleston Law Review. He received his bachelor's degree in construction science and management from Clemson University.

Prior to law school Taylor worked in the construction industry as a project engineer for both heavy-highway and commercial construction companies based in South Carolina. In those roles Taylor estimated and bid government and commercial construction projects, supervised multimillion-dollar construction projects, and drafted construction contracts and subcontractor agreements.

Education
Clemson University, B.S. Construction Science and Management
Charleston School of Law, J.D., Summa Cum Laude

Bar & Court Admissions
South Carolina
United States District Court, South Carolina
 

As executive vice president and chief operating officer of Frampton Construction, Tom Black manages daily operations of the business from the company's Charleston office. He also provides senior level oversight and strategy for the company's administration, finance and project management.

Tom has more than 30 years of construction and management experience as a construction services executive. Throughout his career, his experience has bridged all roles and responsibilities of a commercial general contractor, including leadership positions in preconstruction and project management. 

William G. DesChamps IV

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLC

Will DesChamps concentrates his practice on construction law. Will advises general contractors, homebuilders, developers, owners, and other parties involved with construction projects on their construction and contract needs and represents them in a wide variety of litigation and disputes. A large part of Will's practice is focused on complex construction defect litigation and/or payment/contract/mechanics' lien disputes, typically involving large commercial properties or multifamily and single-family residential dwellings.

In addition, Will has represented businesses and individuals in a broad range of commercial disputes or other types of civil lawsuits. Clients benefit from Will's experience in large, complex litigation, as well as his previous counsel on insurance defense and insurance coverage.

Will graduated magna cum laude from Charleston School of Law, where he served as articles editor for the Charleston Law Review and was the recipient of multiple CALI Awards. He is the third generation of his family to graduate from Clemson University.

Honors & Awards
The Best Lawyers in America "Ones to Watch" in Construction Litigation, 2021-2025
Charleston School of Law CALI Awards in Civil Procedure, Contracts II, Products Liability, Administrative Law, and S.C. Constitutional Law

Memberships
South Carolina Bar
Charleston County Bar Association
ABA Forum on Construction Law
Charleston Contractors' Association