Name Organization Speaking At
Amy McCulloch
Honorable Amy W. McCulloch
Judge Amy McCulloch graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor's degree in biology in 1987. She graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1990 and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar the same year.
Judge McCulloch clerked for Judge Tom Ervin, State Circuit Judge and Judge William Catoe, Federal Magistrate. She became an Assistant Solicitor for Richland County in 1991 and remained there until December of 1996.
Judge McCulloch had a private practice with her husband, Joe McCulloch from 1996 to 1998. During this time she was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina and Midlands Technical College - Paralegal Program teaching courses in business law, civil law, criminal law, and ethics.
Judge McCulloch was sworn in as the Richland County Probate Judge in January of 1999. The Richland County Probate Court website allows public access to information and forms needed to probate estates. She administers a staff of paralegals that serve as estate clerks and guardianship and conservatorship clerks.
She served as President of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges from October of 2003 through 2004. She is also a member of the South Carolina Association of Counties and the National College of Probate Judges.
Judge McCulloch is an instructor for the South Carolina Court Administration, Mandatory School for new Probate Judges. She is an instructor for the South Carolina Bar Bridge the Gap mandatory sessions for new lawyers. She serves on the Board for Midlands Technical College Legal Division. She is the Chair for the Probate Judges' Advisory Committee for South Carolina Court Administration and she is the Co-Chair of Partners in Crisis, advocating for appropriate treatment for the mentally ill.
S.C. Probate Court
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Cherese Handy
Heritage Law Firm
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Douglas O'Neal
Merline & Meacham, P.A.
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Douglas Mazyck
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division
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Heather Galvin
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.
Beaufort County
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James Wegmann
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.
S.C. Master-In-Equity
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James Foster
Anderson County Probate Court
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John Jolley
John has focused his practice on Estate Planning and Probate Administration law since 1998 and is certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Administration. A Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), John advises individuals and business owners about estate and wealth transfer planning, tax, probate, and business planning issues. John practiced in Richmond, Virginia and in Alexandria, Virginia before returning to South Carolina in the fall of 2000 and is licensed in both South Carolina and Virginia. He has called Hilton Hilton Head Island home since 2005, but continues to serve clients in both Hilton Head and Columbia. Outside of the office, John a golfer, hunter, private pilot, parish volunteer, and active dad to four even busier children.
Jolley Law Group, LLC
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Jonathan Lee
Jonathan P. Lee
Sojourner, Caughman & Thomas, LLC
Columbia, SC
Jonathan P. Lee is a certified specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. He advises clients regarding the transition of wealth to beneficiaries and helps clients achieve their personal, business, and charitable planning objectives.
JP has served as chairman of the Columbia Taxation Study Group, President of the Richland Library Friends, a currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Kappa Alpha Order Rho Chapter Housing Corporation, the board of directors of the Richland Library Foundation, and is the Vice-Chancellor of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. From 2014-2016, he was one of six Trust and Estate Fellows of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section of the American Bar Association and currently is a participant in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Foundation Young Leaders Program.
He received his B.S., in Economics and Management from the University of South Carolina in 2002, his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2005, and his LL.M. in Estate Planning from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida in 2006.
Sojourner, Caughman & Thomas, LLC
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Jonathan Colao
Merline & Meacham, P.A.
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Laurel Blair
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.
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP
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Matthew Edwards
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.
Thomas, Fisher & Edwards, P.A.
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Melody Breeden
Melody Breeden Turner, Padget, Graham & Laney, PA
Melody Breeden is a Shareholder at Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA. She has been practicing estate planning and probate law primarily in the Myrtle Beach area since 2002. Melody is licensed in both North and South Carolina. Melody is certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Melody is also certified by the South Carolina Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification as a Civil Court Mediator. Melody was the 2018-2019 Chair of the Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Council of the South Carolina Bar. She served as a past Chair of the South Carolina Estate Planning and Specialization Advisory Board. She is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She is the current Chair of the Horry County Probate Court Advisory Committee. Melody is a member of the following Bar Associations: the American Bar Association, the Horry County Bar Association, the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, and the South Carolina Bar. She is also a Member of the SC Bar House of Delegate. Melody is also a Member of the following organizations: the Elder Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar; the Coastal Planned Giving Advisory Council of Coastal Carolina University (past Chair); the Coastal Educational Foundation (Board Member); and the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Melody is a Practical Law Contributor for Thomas Reuters on the topics of Health Care Powers of Attorney, Ancillary Probate, Signature Pages for Wills & Self Proving Affidavits, Wills, Probate, Revocable Trusts, and Powers of Attorney for South Carolina.
Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA
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Michael Howell
Michael J. Howell
The Law Office of Michael J. Howell, PA
Hilton Head Island
Michael J. Howell is Certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. He is also a Certified Mediator in South Carolina Probate and Circuit Courts.
Born in 1951, in Columbia, South Carolina, Michael has been a life-long resident of the state of South Carolina, and specifically Hilton Head Island, since 1978, where he relocated from Columbia after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1974 and his Juris Doctor degree in 1977 from the University of South Carolina.
Michael became a member of the South Carolina Bar in 1977, and became certified by the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law in 1992. In addition to being a member of the South Carolina Bar, Michael is also a member of the Florida Bar.
Michael J. Howell has consistently played an active role in the South Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, as well as his local Bar Association. His committee and other memberships are as follows:
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. The Law Office of Michael J. Howell, PA
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S. Medlin
Professor S. Alan Medlin
Joseph F. Rice School of Law, University of South Carolina
S. Alan Medlin is an attorney licensed to practice in the State of South Carolina since 1979. He received a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina (summa cum laude ) in 1976 and a J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina in 1979. From 1979 to 1984, he was a partner in the firm of Whitener, Knight, and Medlin, with an emphasis on estate planning matters and real estate transaction and mortgage lending matters.
University of South Carolina School of Law
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Sara McIntosh
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.
McIntosh Law Firm, LLC
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Scott Schmidt
Scott H. Schmidt
Sumter County Circuit Court
Sumter, SC
Scott Schmidt is a member of the South Carolina Bar as well as the United States District Court of South Carolina Federal Bar. Scott is a member of the South Carolina Bar Elder Law Committee, the Guardianship/Conservatorship Subcommittee, and the YLD Wills Clinic Committee. He regularly provides pro bono services for various charitable wills clinics across South Carolina. He has also spoken to various audiences, both locally and nationally, on several aspects of estate planning, including firearm ownership and transfer.. Scott has been practicing law for almost ten years, first as a solo practitioner for Schmidt Law Firm, then with Law Firm Carolinas as their South Carolina Estate Planning Attorney. Since leaving Law Firm Carolinas, he now continues to practice Estate Planning while also taking a position with the Sumter County Solicitor's Office.
During his time at the University of South Carolina School of Law, Scott was a member of Phi Alpha Delta, Phi Delta Phi, the Black Law Students Association, and an officer of the Federalist Society. He served as a research assistant for Professors John Montgomery and Howard Stravitz, worked as a clerk at Simmons Law Firm, and externed with the Richland County Probate Court under the Honorable Amy McCulloch and Jacqueline Belton.
Scott is a former professional baseball player and prior to law school owned and operated a successful and highly praised small business. His broad range of experience allows him to connect with a variety of clients to understand their estate planning needs. He spends his free time with his wife and two children, enjoying sports, reading, and traveling.
First Circuit Solicitor's Office
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William Newsome
William G. Newsome, III
Newsome Law
Billy Newsome practices in the areas of trust and estate administration, wealth transfer planning, taxation and exempt organizations. He is a Certified Specialist in the Areas of Estate Planning and Probate Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
He represents individual and corporate fiduciaries in complex estate and trust administration. Fiduciaries and beneficiaries also call on Billy to assist them with estate and trust litigation matters. He also assists high net worth individuals and business owners with structuring their estate plans and business succession plans.
Billy also represents tax exempt organizations and assists them with complying with the myriad rules applicable to 501(c)(3) organizations. Additionally, he provides general tax and business advice to individuals and businesses.
A native of Hartsville, South Carolina, Billy received a B.S. degree in Economics from Francis Marion College, attending as a Francis Marion Scholar. He received his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he was a Roy Webster Scholar and a member of the Order of the Wig and Robe. He also received a Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Florida School of Law.
Billy and his wife, Kim, and their daughters, Ann and Emily, are active members of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Columbia.
Newsome, Brannon & McDonald, LLC
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