Name Organization Speaking At
Eva Pilgrim
Eva Pilgrim is co-anchor of “GMA3” What You Need to Know”
and an ABC News correspondent based in New York. Her reports can be seen across
multiple ABC News programs and platforms, including “20/20,” “Good Morning
America,” “Nightline” and “World News Tonight with David Muir.”
Since joining ABC News, Pilgrim has reported on a wide range
of breaking news stories, including the recent mass shooting in Nashville, the
Alex Murdaugh trial, the Charlottesville rally, the 2020 presidential election,
the murder of George Floyd, and Hurricanes Matthew, Harvey, Irma, Maria and
Michael.
In the aftermath of the Atlanta mass shooting and the
increase in anti-Asian American hate crimes around the country, Pilgrim
co-anchored a live special edition of “20/20,” “Murder in Atlanta.” She also
co-anchored the ABC News Live special “Stop the Hate: The Rise in Violence
Against Asian Americans.” This primetime special reported on the events that
have led to anti-Asian violence, explored why America is paying attention now
and profiled the new activism emerging in the AAPI community.
Prior to ABC News, Pilgrim got her start in local news
making stops in Bluefield, West Virginia; Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte,
North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 2021, Pilgrim published her children’s book, “Walter Does
His Best,” which teaches children about kindness and love.
Pilgrim was born in Seoul, South Korea, into a military
family and grew up moving around the world. She attended the University of
Florida and the University of South Carolina.
(via ABC.com)
ABC News
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Jean Toal
Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal began her service as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of South Carolina on March 17, 1988, becoming the first woman to serve as a Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. She was re-elected in February of 1996 and was installed as Chief Justice on March 23, 2000 for the balance of the term of her predecessor, which expired June 30, 2004. She was re-elected as Chief Justice in February of 2004 and again in February of 2014, each time for ten-year terms.
She is the first native Columbian and first Roman Catholic to serve on South Carolina's highest court.
Born August 11, 1943 in Columbia, South Carolina, she attended parochial school and public school in Columbia and graduated from Dreher High School in 1961 where she was recognized as the state's top debater.
Chief Justice Toal received her B.A. degree in philosophy in 1965 from Agnes Scott College where she served on the Judicial Council, National Supervisory Board of U. S. National Student Association and played Goalie for the Field Hockey team. She received her J.D. degree in 1968 from the University of South Carolina School of Law where she served as Managing Editor, Leading Articles Editor and Book Review Editor of the South Carolina Law Review. She is a member of the Order of the Coif, Mortar Board and Phi Beta Kappa.
Chief Justice Toal practiced law for 20 years prior to her election to the South Carolina Supreme Court, first as an associate with the Haynsworth Law Firm in Greenville, and then as an associate and partner with Belser, Baker, Barwick, Ravenel, Toal & Bender in Columbia. When she was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1968, women comprised less than one percent of the licensed lawyers in South Carolina. Now almost twenty percent of South Carolina's lawyers are women.
As a lawyer she appeared on a frequent basis in all levels of trial and appellate courts in South Carolina. She also had considerable experience as a litigator in United States District Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and made one appearance as co-counsel before the United States Supreme Court. Her twenty years as a practicing lawyer included a balance of plaintiff and defense work, criminal trial work, and complex constitutional litigation. She wrote many trial and appellate briefs at all court levels. She also had considerable administrative law experience in litigation involving environmental matters, federal and state procurement, hospital certificates of need, employment matters and election matters.
In addition to practicing law, Chief Justice Toal utilized her law degree in public service. Beginning in 1975 she served in the South Carolina House of Representatives representing Richland County for 13 years. She was the first woman in South Carolina to chair a standing committee of the House of Representatives. She served as Chairman of the House Rules Committee and Chairman of the Constitutional Laws Sub-Committee of the House Judiciary Committee. Her legislative service included floor leadership of complex legislation in the fields of constitutional law, utilities regulation, criminal law, structure of local government, budgetary matters, structure of the judicial system, banking and finance legislation, corporate law, tort claims, workers' compensation, freedom of information act and environmental law.
During her 27 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Toal has written opinions addressing the full range of issues both criminal and civil which come before her Court. Also, she and two of her law clerks have authored a book entitled Appellate Practice in South Carolina .
In addition to her work on the bench, Chief Justice Toal has become chief advocate for South Carolina's Judicial Automation Project. Under her leadership, technology initiatives are being integrated into the eight levels of the South Carolina court system. Some of the technology projects include high-speed network connectivity to all 46 county courthouses and an on-line, statewide case management system. Because of her efforts in promoting technology as a way to create a more efficient court system, Chief Justice Toal was recognized by Government Technology magazine as one of the 2002 "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers" of technology in government.
She is a member of the Richland County, South Carolina and American Bar Associations, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, the National Association of Women Judges, and the John Belton O'Neall Inn of Court. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Inns of Court Foundation, is Past President of the Conference of Chief Justices, and is Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts.
Chief Justice Toal received the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Outstanding Contribution to Justice Award in 1995. She has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees by the University of South Carolina, Francis Marion University, The Citadel, Columbia College, College of Charleston, Charleston School of Law and Converse College.
In 2004, Chief Justice Toal received the prestigious Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award from the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession. The award, named in honor of the first woman lawyer in the United States, is given annually to five women who have achieved professional excellence in their field and have actively advanced the status of women within the legal community.
In 2011, Chief Justice Toal was named the first recipient of the National Center for State Courts' (NCSC) Sandra Day O'Connor Award for the Advancement of Civics Education. NCSC established the award in 2010 to honor an organization, court, or individual who has promoted, inspired, improved, or led an innovation or accomplishment in the field of civics education. Chief Justice Toal was instrumental in making South Carolina one of the first pilot states for Justice O'Connor's iCivics web-based interactive civics education program for students, and she has encouraged and supported the use of "Justice Case Files," a graphic novel series developed by the NCSC that teaches students how the courts work.
Under Chief Justice Toal's leadership, the South Carolina Judiciary has a long history of supporting civics education. In addition to iCivics and the "Justice Case Files" series, South Carolina has implemented three state civics programs:
The Class Action Program, which brings middle- and high-school students to the state Supreme Court to hear oral arguments. The Case of the Month Program, which provides streaming video of a case argued before the state Supreme Court. Students are allowed to review the briefs submitted for the case and watch the proceedings. South Carolina Supreme Court Institute, which is held for middle- and high-school social-studies teachers to teach them how to bring law to life for their students. Chief Justice Toal is a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Columbia where she serves as a lector.
Chief Justice Toal is married to her law school classmate, William T. Toal, of Johnson, Toal & Battiste. Chief Justice Toal and Bill were the only husband-wife team to serve as Editor and Managing Editor of the South Carolina Law Review . They live in Columbia and have two daughters, Jean Toal Eisen, a 1993 Yale graduate who serves on the United States Senate Appropriations Committee Staff at the appointment of the Senator Barbara Mikulski; Lilla Patrick Toal Mandsager, a 2003 BA, 2005 MA graduate of Stanford University; one grandson, Patrick Eisen; and one granddaughter, Ruth Margaret Mandsager. Chief Justice Toal is an avid gardener, golfer and sports fan who maintains a shrine in her den to her beloved Atlanta Braves and Carolina Gamecocks.
S.C. Supreme Court
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John Monk
John Monk has covered courts, crime, politics, public corruption, the environment and other issues in the Carolinas for more than 40 years. A U.S. Army veteran who covered the 1989 American invasion of Panama, Monk is a former Washington correspondent for The Charlotte Observe r. He has covered numerous death penalty trials, including those of the Charleston church killer, Dylann Roof, serial killer Pee Wee Gaskins and child killer Tim Jones. Monk's hobbies include hiking, books, languages, music and a lot of other things.
The State Newspaper
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Joseph McCulloch
Joseph M. McCulloch, Jr.
McCulloch and Schillaci
Columbia SC
Joseph M. McCulloch, Jr. is a seasoned litigator and former prosecutor with over forty years of experience. He approaches legal problems with a creative sophistication, competence, and confidence borne of years in the courtroom. Mr. McCulloch is a strategist and problem solver. As a member of the South Carolina Bar since 1977, he is dedicated to representing and defending clients accused of serious crimes both in federal and state courts. Mr. McCulloch is a founder and past president of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and longtime member of the South Carolina Association of Justice and the National Association of Civil Defense Lawyers. A frequent lecturer to attorneys and judges, he has annually provided the criminal law evidence update at the statewide meeting of the South Carolina Bar Association for over 15 years.
Before starting his own practice in 1996, Mr. McCulloch was a partner in a law firm in Columbia, South Carolina where he concentrated in the areas of criminal defense and personal injury litigation. Earlier in his career, he worked with the South Carolina Supreme Court where he trained summary court judges among his other responsibilities and has continued presentations to the state’s magistrates annually. He also served as a career Prosecutor with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Columbia, South Carolina.
In addition to civil and criminal litigation, Mr. McCulloch has worked with numerous sports and entertainment clients. He served as Associate Counsel to the University of South Carolina and later as external counsel and has frequently advised NCAA collegiate institutions and coaches in athletic and disciplinary matters. He has served as counsel for institutions overseeing independent investigative reviews. For approximately 27 years, Mr. McCulloch has taught at the University of South Carolina Law School in the areas of Sports and/or Entertainment Law and Criminal Law.
In addition to his law practice, Mr. McCulloch is dedicated to a better community. He is a founder and current president of Palmetto Innocence, an endeavor marshalling the assistance of volunteer lawyers in an effort to discover and exonerate those wrongfully convicted and has dedicated hundreds of hours toward this mission. He has served on various boards and commissions and provides counsel to groups and organizations. Mr. McCulloch is also a court certified civil mediator.
Mr. McCulloch received his B.A. from the University of South
Carolina in 1974 and his J.D. Degree from the University of South Carolina
School of Law in 1977. He is the proud recipient of the Presidential Citation
for Legal Advocacy for Extraordinary Service in Protecting the Civil Rights of
South Carolinians presented by the South Carolina State NAACP.
Mcculloch and Schillaci
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Lesley Coggiola
Before her retirement in 2018, Lee Coggiola was Disciplinary
Counsel for the South Carolina Supreme Court, and before that Chief Staff
Attorney for the South Carolina Court of Appeals and the Chief Public Defender
of Richland County. Prior to attending
law school she spent eleven years with IBM in systems and marketing She is currently an adjunct instructor at
USC School of Law. Originally from
Massachusetts and New York, she has made South Carolina home for 45 years.
Education:
University of Miami, 1967
University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D.,1988
Memberships:
Criminal Law Section, Chair
South Carolina Bar, House of Delegates
South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Board Member
South Carolina Public Defender Association, former President
National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys, former Member
American Council of Chief Defenders, former member
Commission of the Office on Indigent Defence, former member
American Bar Associations, member
Center for Professional Responsibility, member
National Commission on the Profession, member
John Belton O'Neal Inn of Court
Chief Justice's Commission on the Profession
Awards and Honors:
Gold Compleat Lawyer Award, University of South Carolina School of Law - 2008
Rhodes McDonald Award, John Belton O'Neal Inn of Court - 2014
Jean Galloway Bissell Award, South Carolina Woman Lawyers Association
Publications:
The Criminal Law of South Carolina (Fifth and Sixth Edition)
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Mark Curriden
Mark Curriden is a lawyer and journalist for The Texas Lawbook, The Dallas Morning News, and the ABA Journal.
Mark is the author of the best-selling book Contempt of Court: A Turn-of-the-Century Lynching That Launched a Hundred Years of Federalism . The book received the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award and numerous other honors. He also is a frequent lecturer at bar associations, law firm retreats, judicial conferences and other events. His CLE presentations have been approved for ethics credit in nearly every state.
From 1988 to 1994, Mark was the legal affairs writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , where he covered the Georgia Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He authored a three-part series of articles that exposed rampant use of drug dealers and criminals turned paid informants by local and federal law enforcement authorities, which led to Congressional oversight hearings. A related series of articles by Mark contributed to a wrongly convicted death row inmate being freed.
The Dallas Morning News made Mark its national legal affairs writer in 1996. For more than six years, Mark wrote extensively about the tobacco litigation, alleged price-fixing in the pharmaceutical industry, the Exxon Valdez litigation, and more than 25 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Mark also authored a highly-acclaimed 16-part series on the future of the American jury system. As part of his extensive coverage of the tobacco litigation, Mark unearthed confidential documents and evidence showing that the then Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, had made a secret deal with a long-time lawyer and friend in which the friend would have profited hundreds of millions of dollars from the tobacco settlement. As a direct result of Mark's articles, the U.S. Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation, which led to the indictment and conviction of Mr. Morales.
For the past 25 years, Mark has been a senior contributing writer for the ABA Journal , which is the nation's largest legal publication. His articles have been on the cover of the magazine more than a dozen times. He has received scores of honors for his legal writing, including the American Bar Association's Silver Gavel Award, the American Judicature Society's Toni House Award, the American Trial Lawyer's Amicus Award, and the Chicago Press Club's Headliner Award. Twice, in 2001 and 2005, the American Board of Trial Advocates named Mark its Journalist of the Year.
From 2002 to 2010, Mark was the senior communications counsel at Vinson & Elkins, a 750-lawyer global law firm.
Mark's book, Contempt of Court , tells the story of Ed Johnson, a young black man from Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1906. Johnson was falsely accused of rape, railroaded through the criminal justice system, found guilty and sentenced to death - all in three weeks. Two African-American lawyers stepped forward to represent Johnson on appeal. In doing so, they filed one of the first federal habeas petitions ever attempted in a state criminal case. The lawyers convinced the Supreme Court of the United States to stay Johnson's execution. But before they could have him released, a lynch mob, aided by the sheriff and his deputies, lynched Johnson. Angered, the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the sheriff and leaders of the mob, charging them with conte mpt of the Supreme Court. It is the only time in U.S. history that the Supreme Court conducted a criminal trial.
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Michael Virzi
Michael Virzi teaches Legal Writing and Professional Responsibility at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he has also taught Fundamentals of Law Practice and Professionalism and Advanced Legal Writing. He has a solo practice in Columbia, which focuses on lawyer ethics, discipline, and malpractice. Michael is a former Assistant Disciplinary Counsel for the South Carolina Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel, prior to which he practiced primarily in the area of business litigation. He serves on the South Carolina Bar's Professional Responsibility and Ethics Advisory Committees, the latter of which he chaired from 2007 to 2010. cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2000.
Virzi Law Firm
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Robert Wilcox
Robert M. Wilcox is a professor and former Dean at the University of
South Carolina School of Law. He joined
the faculty in 1986 and served as Dean of the School of Law from 2011-2020.
A Charleston native, Professor Wilcox earned his undergraduate degree
from Duke University and his law degree from University of South Carolina in
1981. He practiced at Dow, Lohnes & Albertson in Washington, D.C., and
Atlanta (now Cooley LLP) before joining the USC Law School faculty. He has taught professional responsibility for
many years and has been active in developing professionalism initiatives within
the school and the South Carolina Bar. From 2003-08, he served as Director of
the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Center on Professionalism at the
School of Law, which is a national leader in lawyer mentoring and other
professionalism initiatives. He also teaches property law and wills and trust
law.
Professor Wilcox has been a member of the South Carolina Bar since 1981.
He serves currently on the South Carolina Chief Justice's Commission on the
Profession. He formerly served on the South Carolina Judicial Merit Selection
Commission and the South Carolina Commission on Judicial Conduct and is a
former chair of the South Carolina Bar Ethics Advisory Committee. He is a
member of the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court in Columbia and currently serves
as President of the South Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society.
He is a recipient of the
South Carolina Bar Foundation’s DuRant Distinguished Public Service Award, the
Richland County Bar’s John W. Williams Distinguished Service Award, the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court Rhodes-McDonald Award, the USC School of Law Gold Compleat Lawyer Medallion, and the Order of the Palmetto.
University of South Carolina School of Law
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Thomas Cooper
Thomas W. Cooper, Jr., was born on May 20, 1941, to T.W. Cooper, an electrician and automotive mechanic and the late Elizabeth Jeter Cooper, post mistress of the Town of Mayesville, South Carolina.
He grew up in Mayesville, a small farming community in eastern Sumter county. He completed high school in 1959 and entered the freshmen class at USC that fall. At the end of the fall semester of his sophomore year, illness interrupted his college education (he was sick of school). In January of 1961, he took a job in a furniture factory in Sumter and worked diligently at that job until August of that year during which time his salary rose meteorically from $1.00 to $1.03 per hour (as a result of a minimum wage increase). He left that job in August of 1961 with callouses on both hands and with an enhanced appreciation of the value of a college education. He graduated from USC in May of 1963 with a B.A. degree in history.
He took a job as a English teacher in the public schools of Clarendon county. He worked there until 1968 when he was engaged to marry Margaret Barringer Bland. He left classroom teaching and took a job in school administration in the public schools of Sumter county. After two years in school administration, he entered the USC School of Law in the fall of 1970. He commuted to law school while his wife worked as a teacher in the public schools of Sumter county.
Following his graduation from law school in 1973, he joined Billy Coffey in the practice of law in Manning, South Carolina. In 1974 he was made a partner in the firm which eventually expanded to Coffey, Cooper, Chandler & DuRant with offices in Manning and Surfside Beach. He remained as a partner with the firm until his election to the Bench.
He was elected as Circuit Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit in February of 1992 and served in that capacity until his retirement in September of 2006. As a Circuit Judge, he served on the Advisory Committee, Ad Hoc Rules Committee, and Commission on Judicial Conduct. In retirement, he continues to remain active, part-time, by holding court one week per month. Judge Cooper has been active in church work as a member of the Presbyterian Church since his youth. He grew up in the Presbyterian Church of Mayesville. In the Presbyterian Church at Manning, he has served as Clerk of the Session, member of the choir and a teacher of an adult Sunday school class there.
He is an avid but inept golfer and bird hunter, an obedient husband, a proud father, and a mesmerized grandfather. Margaret is an accomplished grandmother and gardener and is actively involved in church and volunteer work. His son Bland is married to the former Liza Langston of Charlotte. Bland is an Agronomist for Competitions of the PGA Tour. He and Liza reside in Sumter with their three sons: Langston, William, and Sumter. They attend The First Presbyterian Church in Sumter. His daughter Judy is married to Bert G. (Skip) Utsey III, an attorney and partner at Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick, PA. Judy is a graduate of USC (Bachelor's Degree) and Winthrop (Master's). Judy and Skip reside in Charleston with their son Thomas and daughter Margaret Elizabeth (Maggie). Judy is an elder in the Presbyterian Church of Manning.
S.C. Circuit Court
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Valerie Bauerlein
Valerie Bauerlein covers national affairs for The Wall
Street Journal from Raleigh, N.C. She has a special interest in small-town
America and Southern politics, economics and culture.
Valerie has covered the South Carolina presidential
primaries for The Wall Street Journal since 2008. She has also covered natural
and manmade disasters, from Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and the mass
slayings at Emanuel Church in Charleston to the deadly condominium collapse in
Surfside, Fla. She has written features about Nascar, roller coasters, beauty
pageants and Waffle House.
Previously, Valerie covered Coke, Pepsi and the beverage and
snack industry for the Journal from Atlanta. She also covered Bank of America,
Wells Fargo, Wachovia and other regional banks from their acquisition tear in
2005 to the crash in 2008. She began her career at The Shelby (N.C.) Star and
worked as a cops reporter at the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal, a legislative
reporter at The State (Columbia, S.C.) and congressional correspondent for the
News & Observer (Raleigh).
Valerie is the author of “The Devil at His Elbow: Alex
Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty” (Ballantine, 2024).
Wall Street Journal
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