Name Organization Speaking At
D. Nichole Davis
D. Nichole Davis is a personal injury attorney at McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates, P.A. in Lexington, South Carolina. Prior to joining the firm, she served as Risk Management Director at the South Carolina Bar and as Director of the South Carolina Supreme Court’s Lawyer Mentoring Program. She litigated child abuse and neglect cases on behalf of the South Carolina Department of Social Services, and she clerked for the Honorable Clifton Newman.
She is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Professionalism, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, the planning committee for the ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility, the South Carolina Black Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Bar Ethics Advisory Committee, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, the South Carolina Bar Professional Responsibility Committee, the Society for Diversity, Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society, the South Carolina Bar Judicial Qualifications Committee, and the University of South Carolina Alumni Association.
McWhirter Bellinger & Associates, PA
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Deidre Laws
Deidre double majored in Sociology and Social
Sciences Interdisciplinary at The State University of New York (SUNY) at
Buffalo, earning her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, in 2004. She moved to
South Carolina to attend the University of South Carolina School of Law, and
earned her Juris Doctor degree in 2007, and was admitted to practice in
November 2007. While in law school, Ms. Laws was a member of the Moot Court
Bar, the manager for the National Moot Court Team, an Academic Assistance
Program Tutor for Civil Procedure, and a member of the editorial staff of the
South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business. As an attorney, Ms.
Laws’ practice has been primarily in labor and employment litigation. She
worked in private practice, where she represented school districts, technical
colleges, and universities in all areas of school and education law, employment
law, and litigation. She has successfully defended clients in State circuit
courts, the S.C. Court of Appeals, the S.C. Supreme Court, and the S.C.
Workers’ Compensation Commission. Her representation of education entities led
her to an opportunity to work in-house as the Employee Relations Manager at a technical
college. Deidre is currently at the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing &
Regulation, as Chief Labor Counsel. She is primarily litigation counsel for all
Occupational Safety and Health contested cases, and provides general advice to
the OSHA, Child Labor, Wages, and Immigration divisions. Deidre has served on
the Minority Pre-law Conference Committee, and currently serves on the
Education Law Committee, In-House Counsel Committee, and the Administrative
& Regulatory Law Committee.
S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
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Eugene Matthews
Gene Matthews is a Shareholder with Richardson,
Plowden & Robinson, P.A., where he heads the firm’s Employment Law Practice
Group. He joined the firm in 2004.
Mr.
Matthews is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Specialist in
Employment & Labor Law. He is also a certified mediator, and often mediates employment claims.
From
April 2000 to March 2004, Mr. Matthews was General Counsel and Deputy Director
for the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS). From 1999 to 2000, he was Deputy Director for
Labor at the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation
(LLR). Prior to state service, from 1995 to 1999, Mr. Matthews practiced law with Kilpatrick Stockton, L.L.P.
Mr.
Matthews has previously served as the Chairman of the South Carolina Bar’s
Employment & Labor Law Section, and has also served on the Employment &
Labor Law Specialization Advisory Board of the S.C. Commission on CLE and
Specialization. He is a member of the South Carolina Bar and North Carolina Bar
Mr.
Matthews received a B.A. summa cum laude
from Furman University, an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University,
and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Matthews
served with the Central Intelligence Agency.
In 2019, he retired as a Captain from the U.S. Navy Reserve.
Richardson Plowden & Robinson, PA
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Grant LeFever
Grant Burnette LeFever is an attorney with Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA, in Columbia, SC, where she focuses her legal practice on employment law, including a range of civil rights and discrimination issues. She also practices family law and education law, including issues involving Title IX, special education, school discipline and teacher employment issues.
Grant is a 2018 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. Prior to law school, Grant earned a master’s degree in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor’s degree in English and History from Presbyterian College.
Grant has been selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch, 2021 to present, in the fields of labor and employment law, civil rights law, education law, family law, and litigation. She also has been recognized in Super Lawyers Rising Stars and Legal Elite of the Midlands. Most recently, Grant was profiled by the National Law Journal as a 2023 Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazer for her work in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. South Carolina.
Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA
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J. Porter
Paul Porter is a employee-side employment law and business litigation lawyer at Cromer, Babb, Porter & Hicks, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina. Paul is from Greenville, South Carolina. He went to college at Presbyterian College (go Blue Hose!) and law school at the University of South Carolina. He is the current chair of the employment law section of the South Carolina Association of Justice. Paul was awarded the young lawyer award by ABOTA in 2016 in recognition of his aptitude as a young trial lawyer and he has been honored as legal elite in employment law and business litigation for both Columbia and Greenville several times. Paul is a certified specialist in South Carolina Employment and Labor Law.Paul became a fellow of the American Bar Foundation in 2024. He's a "super lawyer" and also a super good guy.
Paul lives in Columbia with his wife Ashley and dog Snoopy. He loves practicing law, but would rather be skiing, working out, or drinking a cold beer in the warm sun.
Cromer Babb & Porter, LLC
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Tara Nixon
Tara Nixon graduated
from Augusta State University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in History and a
minor in Political Science. Prior to graduating from the University of South
Carolina School of Law in 2014, she served in executive positions with a
variety of non-profit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and the
University Hospital Foundation, and taught middle school English. Following law
school, Tara served as a Staff Attorney for the South Carolina Supreme Court before
transitioning to a private defense firm where she practiced in the areas of
labor and employment law, municipal law, and education law. In 2016, she joined
the South Carolina School Boards Association as Staff Attorney, where she
provided policy and legal services to South Carolina’s school districts and
frequently presented on topics including a wide variety of employment law
issues, FOIA, the South Carolina Ethics Act, and Roberts Rules of Order. She
obtained a master’s degree in Political Management with a concentration in
Advocacy Politics from The George Washington University in 2019. Tara worked
for the South Carolina Administrative Law Court as a Staff Attorney, and currently
serves as Assistant Labor Counsel for the S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing
& Regulation. She is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association’s Administrative
Law Committee, teaches yoga, and enjoys spending time with her three rescue pit
bull terriers.
S.C. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
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Thomas Barlow
Tom was admitted to both the South Carolina and North Carolina Bars in 1995 and is admitted to practice before the state and federal courts of South Carolina and North Carolina as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also a South Carolina Supreme Court-certified mediator. Tom is a member of the NSBA Council of School Attorneys and the South Carolina Council of School Attorneys.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., Political Science (1991)
University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D. (1995)
Halligan Mahoney & Williams
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