Name Organization Speaking At
Amanda Hess
Amanda Hess is an attorney and the Equal Access Team Leader for Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A). P&A is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to protecting the rights of people with disabilities in South Carolina. More information about P&A can be found on its website at http://www.pandasc.org . Amanda is a summa cum laude graduate of Syracuse University and a magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University College of Law. After law school, Amanda clerked for the Honorable Eugene D. Serpentelli, when he was the Assignment Judge of the Superior Court, Ocean Vicinage in New Jersey. Since 2007, Amanda has worked for P&A representing people with disabilities regarding their legal rights. She has worked on disability discrimination matters including special education, assistive technology, effective communication, housing, accessibility, and matters involving barriers to work.
Disability Rights South Carolina
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Andrew Rozynski
Andrew Rozynski is a distinguished partner at Eisenberg
& Baum, LLP, where he brings extensive experience and passion to his
nationally recognized civil rights practice. He serves as co-director of the
firm’s Law Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and leads the firm’s appellate
practice. Through impactful litigation, Mr. Rozynski has helped shape legal
precedent and expand protections for individuals across the country.
Mr. Rozynski brings a rare combination of talents as both a
formidable trial litigator and an accomplished appellate advocate, setting him
apart in the legal field. Known for taking on complex cases that others avoid,
he employs creative strategies to uncover winning arguments that are not
immediately obvious. He has earned a strong reputation for successfully
litigating cases of first impression and has secured more than 25 favorable
verdicts and judgments from juries, judges, and arbitrators nationwide.
Mr. Rozynski is admitted to practice before more than 40
federal district and appellate courts across over 25 states, and he has argued
dozens of cases in both trial and appellate forums, including before the United
States Supreme Court. His civil rights docket spans a wide range of landmark
cases involving discrimination in healthcare, housing, education, government
services, employment, and law enforcement. Throughout his career, he has
championed his clients’ rights by securing numerous favorable rulings in
federal Courts of Appeals nationwide—overturning adverse decisions, preserving
critical victories, and positively impacting the lives of many.
Mr. Rozynski has a particularly strong focus on Deaf
discrimination cases. As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) with three Deaf family
members, he is fluent in American Sign Language and has a deep understanding of
Deaf culture. This personal connection allows him to advocate with unique
insight, credibility, and cultural fluency—qualities that make him an
especially effective advocate for the Deaf community.
He has handled nationally significant cases involving hospitals, courts, housing providers, government agencies, colleges, nursing homes, banks, and large private employers. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME, and USA Today, and has appeared on major television networks including Fox News, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Beyond litigation, Mr. Rozynski is a committed mentor and frequent speaker on civil rights and accessibility. He welcomes opportunities to share his experience with attorneys, students, advocates, and the public. Mr. Rozynski has worked closely with and maintains good relationships with other civil rights advocacy organizations, including the United States Department of Justice, NAACP, ACLU, and National Fair Housing Alliance Eisenburg & Baum, LLP
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Anna Conner
Anna Maria Conner is a Senior Attorney at Disability Rights South Carolina (DRSC), the federal and state mandated protection and advocacy system for South Carolina. She is a member of SC Access for Justice, the Civil Rights Section of the SC Bar, the Health Law Committee of the SC Bar, and the Florence County Bar Association. She has also served on the Board of South Carolina Legal Services. Ms. Conner has litigated in federal and state court (in class actions and individual cases), worked on amicus briefs, represented clients in Medicaid appeals, supervised DRSCs monitoring program, and investigated allegations of abuse and neglect at facilities throughout South Carolina. She has also appeared before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to her work at DRSC, Ms. Conner was corporate counsel for Advantica Restaurant Group and was in private practice in labor, employment and environmental law defense, administrative law, litigation, appellate practice, and affirmative litigation. She has provided training through the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the National Alliance on Mental Illness-South Carolina, the National Disability Rights Network, helped plan continuing legal education seminars on behalf of DRSC and the Civil Rights Section of the SC Bar and has given presentations on various topics, including preventing abuse and neglect, the rights of people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Medicaid law and appeals, alternatives to guardianships/conservatorships, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She received her B.A. degree from Furman University and her J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Disability Rights South Carolina
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Brook Andrews
Brook is a seasoned litigator with extensive experience in
fraud investigations and government enforcement actions at both federal and
state levels. He joined the firm after serving as the Acting United States
Attorney for the District of South Carolina, where he was responsible for
overseeing all federal law enforcement actions in the state. In this role,
Brook led a staff of approximately 140 criminal prosecutors, civil litigators,
and support personnel across offices in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, and
Florence, serving a district of more than five million residents.
During his distinguished career as a federal prosecutor,
Brook investigated and prosecuted a wide variety of cases, including healthcare
fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, national security matters, public
corruption, defense procurement fraud, and other federal offenses. His
experience encompasses fraud by corporate entities and senior executives, False
Claims Act violations, financial crimes, cybercrime, and complex white-collar
matters. Brook has handled and supervised numerous corporate criminal
resolutions, significant civil settlements, jury trials, and appeals before the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to his appointment
as Acting U.S. Attorney, Brook served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney and
Deputy Criminal Chief with oversight of the White Collar and General Crimes
Section, where he supervised the office’s most complex and highest-profile
investigations and prosecutions.
Before his federal service, Brook practiced at a major law
firm where he represented State Attorneys General as outside counsel in complex
multistate litigation, playing an active role in some of the nation's largest
consumer protection cases.
Brook has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law since 2018, where he trains students in the art of courtroom advocacy and serves as the school’s Appellate Advocacy instructor. Brook’s career began with his selection into the Department of Justice's prestigious Attorney General's Honors Program, and he practiced law in Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, N.C., before returning to his home state of South Carolina in 2016.
Education
University
of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law, JD (2007)
Compleat
Lawyer Award , Bronze MedallionEditor,
South Carolina Law Review
Moot
Court Bar National Team
Chair,
Honor Council
President,
Public Interest Law Society
George
Washington University, MA, Legislative Affairs (2004)
Davidson
College, BA, History (2001)
Admissions
South
Carolina
District
of Columbia
Supreme
Court of South Carolina
U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
U.S.
District Court for the District of South Carolina
U.S.
Court of Federal Claims
Clerkships
Law
Clerk, the Honorable Jean H. Toal, Former Chief Justice, Supreme Court of
South Carolina
Law
Clerk, the Honorable Margaret B. Seymour, U.S. District Court for the
District of South Carolina
Practice Areas
Litigation,
Government Response, and Crisis Management White
Collar Defense & Government Investigations Qui Tam
Litigation State
Attorneys General Actions White
Collar Healthcare Fraud, Compliance & Litigation Energy
Industries
Life
Sciences, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Technology and
Commercial Transactions Banking
& Financial Services Energy
Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough LLP
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Debbie Durban
Debbie's vast experience in employment law includes defending employers against various employment-based legal claims, advising companies in matters involving ADA public accommodations standards, counseling employers in efforts to avoid litigation, drafting employment policies and handbooks, and more. She focuses her practice on employment and labor issues, commercial litigation, and trade secrets, and non-compete advice and litigation.
Education
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP
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Derek Black
Derek W. Black
Derek Black is a Professor of Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. His areas of expertise include education law and policy, constitutional law, civil rights, evidence, and torts. The focus of his current scholarship is the intersection of constitutional law and public education, particularly as it pertains to educational equality and fairness for disadvantaged students. His earlier work focused more heavily on intentional discrimination standards. His articles have been published and are forthcoming in the California Law Review , Northwestern University Law Review , Vanderbilt Law Review , Washington University Law Review , Minnesota Law Review , Boston University Law Review , William & Mary Law Review , Boston College Law Review , and North Carolina Law Review , among various others. His work has also been cited in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals and by several briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Prior to teaching, he litigated issues relating to school desegregation, diversity, school finance equity, student discipline, and special education at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. He left the Lawyers' Committee to teach at Howard University School of Law, where he also founded and directed the Education Rights Center.
Professor Black has also taught at the University of North Carolina School of Law and American University Washington College of Law. Beyond teaching, has been active in various outside endeavors, including serving as pro bono counsel in civil rights cases, a consultant to civil rights campaigns, and a member of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team.
He attended law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Law Review for two years, was awarded the Dan Pollitt ACLU fellowship in his third year, and graduated with High Honors.
USC School of Law
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Jack Cohoon
Jack E. Cohoon is a partner at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, P.A. He focuses his legal practice on employment law. Prior to joining the firm in January 2020, Jack worked as a legal aid attorney at South Carolina Legal Services for nearly 14 years, where he focused primarily on employment-related legal issues affecting low-income South Carolinians. He is the recipient of Martindale-Hubbells AV Preeminent Rating, the Richland County Bars Civic Star Award for community involvement, and the South Carolina Access to Justice Commissions Ellen Hines Smith Legal Services Attorney of the Year Award.
Jack is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. He holds a Bachelors degree in History and Political Science from the University of Georgia. When not practicing law, Jack hikes, bikes, and camps with his family and volunteers as a scout leader with his son's scout troop
Admissions
U.S.
District Court, District of South Carolina, 2007
South
Carolina, 2006
Education
University
of South Carolina School of Law, Juris Doctor
President,
USC Chapter of Just Democracy, an organization of law students dedicated
to protecting voting rights
Research
Editor, South Eastern Environmental Law Journal
University
of Georgia, Bachelor of Arts with Honors, History and Political Science
Associations
South
Carolina Bar
Employment
and Labor Law Section
Continuing
Legal Education Planner
Richland
County Bar Association
Lexington
County Bar Association
Legal
Eagles of the Indian Waters Council, Boy Scouts of America
Honors & Awards
AV
Preeminent® Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, 2021 to
present
Martindale-Hubbell
Platinum Client Champion Award, 2022 to present
Best
Lawyers in America, honored in Litigation – Labor and Employment Law,
2022-present; honored in Employment Law – Individuals, 2024-present
South
Carolina Super Lawyers, 2025 to present
“Legal
Elite of the Midlands”, 2020 to present by Columbia Business Monthly in
Labor and Employment Law
Alumnus
of the Year, Indian Waters Council of Scouting America, 2024
Civic
Star Award, Richland County Bar Association, 2021
Cubmaster
of the Year, Chinquapin District of the Indian Waters Council, Boy Scouts
of America, 2018
Ellen
Hines Smith Legal Services Attorney of the Year, awarded by the South
Carolina Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and the South Carolina
Bar Foundation, 2012
South
Carolina Legal Services Young Attorney of the Year, 2009
Representative Cases
Obtained
a declaratory judgment finding that the Commission of the Department of
Disabilities and Special Needs had violated the South Carolina Freedom of
Information Act by holding unlawful secret meetings and that the
Commission’s vote to terminate the State Director was therefore void.
Recovered
a federal retiree’s disability retirement benefits in an appeal to the
Merit Systems Protection Board.
Led
effort to obtain the first-ever vacatur and expungement of a prostitution
conviction pursuant to the state’s new Human Trafficking law.
Reaching
a significant settlement in a Title VII case for a client from Venezuela
who was discriminated against due to national origin.
Brought
a federal civil rights challenge to a law that required people with
certain criminal convictions to pay $50 for reissuance of an ID that was
free to everyone else. The state Legislature subsequently removed the fee.
Obtained
a record correction and significant financial settlement in a Fair Credit
Reporting Act suit for a client who had been denied a job opportunity due
to an erroneous background report.
Brought
a successful administrative challenge to the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division’s practice of listing civil contempt for non-payment
of child support on criminal records.
Obtained
reversal and remand in the Court of Appeals of an Administrative Law Court
decision in an unemployment benefits case that contained improper findings
of fact regarding the timeliness of a worker’s pro se appeal.
Successfully
defended a favorable Administrative Law Court decision before the South
Carolina Court of Appeals, preserving a client’s eligibility for
unemployment benefits.
Challenged
a discriminatory South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles policy that
denied commercial driver’s licenses to legal immigrants, obtaining a
license for a client.
Obtained Court of Appeals affirmance of the family court’s incorporation of a partial settlement agreement, apportionment of a worker’s compensation award, and the valuation of marital property. Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA
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Lydia Hendrix
Lydia Robins Hendrix focuses
her practice at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel on employment law, assisting
clients with variety of workplace issues, including equal pay, wrongful
termination, discrimination, and more.
Additionally, Lydia practices
government law, including holding public agencies and officials accountable
through tort claims and Freedom of Information Act requests. A former teacher,
she also stands ready to assist parents, students, and teachers with a variety
of education law matters, assisting with IEP and 504 plans, due process
proceedings, manifestation hearings, expulsions, Title IX and sexual harassment
matters, and contract disputes.
Lydia served as a law clerk
at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel for two years while studying at the University
of South Carolina School of Law. A summa cum laude graduate with a
concentration in children’s law, Lydia served as a student attorney at the school
of law Education Rights Clinic. In that role, she evaluated cases and
researched relevant state and federal law to develop legal strategy. She also
counseled clients on courses of actions that could meet their goals and
disabled students’ needs.
Lydia earned an impressive
number of honors during law school, including nine CALI Awards. That
prestigious recognition is bestowed on the top-scoring student in a class. She
also was inducted into the Order of the Coif and invited to join the John Belton
O’Neall Inn of Court as a pupil member.
She also holds a Certificate
of Graduate Studies in Women’s and Gender Studies and a master’s in Comparative
Literature from the University of South Carolina. She graduated magna cum laude
with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages from Clemson University and speaks
conversational Spanish.
As a classroom teacher at
A.C. Flora High School in Columbia, Lydia became deeply familiar with students’
needs. She often worked with administrators, counselors and other teachers to
support students with Individualized Education Programs and 504 plans.
An artist and designer who
once owned her own studio, Lydia often uses her talents to serve the community.
She’s created promotional materials to benefit Sexual Trauma Services of the
Midlands. Additionally, she’s served as a volunteer extended essay advisor for
A.C. Flora High School International Baccalaureate students and as a second
thesis reader for the University of South Carolina Honors College.
Admissions
South Carolina U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Education
University of South Carolina School of Law, Juris
Doctor, summa cum laude
Concentration in children’s law Dean’s List and President’s List The Journal of Law and Education, senior
research editor Labor and Employment Law Society, vice president Humanist Law Student Association Children’s Law Advocacy Society Carolina Equality Alliance Secretary
University of South Carolina, Certificate of
Graduate Study, Women’s and Gender Studies University of South Carolina, Master of Arts,
Comparative Literature
Area of Focus: British and French Literature
Clemson University, Bachelor of Arts, Modern
Languages (Spanish), French minor, magna cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa Society Sigma Delta Pi National Honor Society Gamma Phi Beta Sorority
Instituto Cervantes of Spain, Diploma de Espanol
como Lengua Extranjera (DELE) South Carolina Educator Certification in Gifted
and Talented, AP English Literature and Composition, Read 2 Succeed
Associations
South Carolina Bar Federal Bar Association
Honors & Awards
“Legal Elite of the Midlands” by Columbia
Business Monthly, 2024 to present Order of the Coif CALI Awards in Legal Research, Analysis, and
Writing I; Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing II; Advanced Legal
Writing; Education Law & Policy; Constitutional Issues in Public
Education Law; Women & the Law; Police Law & Policy; Advanced
Civil Procedure; and Conflicts of Law John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court, Pupil Order of the Wig & Robe, Clerk of Court S.C. Bar Employment and Labor Law Section
Memorial Scholarship Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Labor and
Employment Law – Employee, 2026; Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2026
Reported Cases
Student Note: Gifted Education as a Racist
Vestige of Eugenicist Thought ,
51 The J. of L. and Ed. 214 (Fall 2022). “Dryden and the Solution to Domination: Bonds of
Love in The Conquest of Granada.” (May 2011)
Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA
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Sarah Cox
A long-time resident of Columbia, Sarah Cox focuses her practice on
employment law, personal injury, civil rights law and litigation. She also can
represent clients in grandparents’ rights cases.
Sarah came to Burnette Shutt & McDaniel as a senior law clerk, working
for the firm as she completed her Juris Doctor at Mitchell Hamline School of
Law. While in law school, Sarah developed an interest in foodborne illness
litigation and grandparents’ visitation rights.
As Burnette Shutt & McDaniel’s senior law clerk, she honed her legal
skills by conducting research pertaining to employment law, civil rights law,
commercial litigation and family law. She also drafted legal pleadings, motions
and mediation statements. She helped attorneys prepare for trials, hearings,
mediations and other legal proceedings.
She worked at two other Columbia law firms while in law school, serving as
a legal assistant and law clerk. Her duties included drafting and editing
discovery, motions and other legal documents. She also researched memoranda
pertaining to a wide range of issues, including civil litigation, medical
malpractice, property law, Social Security disability and personal injury.
Sarah attended the University of South Carolina School of Law for one
year, where she also served as a library research assistant.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies at the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro. She studied abroad for a semester in Estonia.
Sarah lives in Columbia with her husband, Matt, and their two children. In her free time, Sarah enjoys exploring South Carolina state parks with her family.
Admissions
U.S. Supreme Court U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit U.S. District Court
for the District of South Carolina South Carolina
Education
Mitchell Hamline
School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2019
Cum laude graduate Dean’s List, Fall
2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019
University of South
Carolina School of Law, candidate for Juris Doctor, August 2010 to May
2011
Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance Program, Spring 2011
University of North
Carolina at Greensboro, Bachelor of Arts, Liberal Studies, 2010
Dean’s List, fall
1999, Fall 2008, Spring 2009 University of Tartu,
Tartu Estonia, study abroad, Fall 2001
Associations
South Carolina Bar
Employment and Labor
Law Section
South Carolina
Association for Justice South Carolina Supreme
Court Historical Society
Honors & Awards
American Bar
Association, Pro Bono Leader Award, 2020 to present Best Lawyers in
America “Ones to Watch,” for Appellate Practice, 2023 to present; Labor
and Employment Law – Employee, 2023 to present; Litigation – Labor and
Employment, 2023 to present; Civil Rights Law, 2025 to present Super Lawyers Rising
Stars, Employment and Labor Law, 2022 to present “Legal Elite of the
Midlands”, 2021 to present, by Columbia Business Monthly
Published Works
“Grandparent and Third Party Visitation Rights: A 50 State
Survey,” “Children’s Legal Rights Journal,” Volume 40, Issue 2, December 2020
Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA
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Susan Dunn
Susan Dunn is the former Legal Director for the ACLU of South Carolina, since retiring after more than 12 years of service and over 40 years as a civil rights lawyer in South Carolina.
Prior to
joining the ACLU of South Carolina in January 2009, Susan worked in private
practice in Charleston for more than 30 years. For 12 years, beginning in the
mid-1990’s, Dunn litigated a high-profile and groundbreaking constitutional
case challenging a policy mandating the testing of pregnant and postpartum
women at a public hospital for cocaine use, and the delivery of those test
results to law enforcement. Her clients ultimately won a favorable ruling in
the United States Supreme Court that led to a settlement of the case.
Susan
was the 1998 recipient of the Jean Galloway Bissell Award, presented annually
by the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association to a person who has contributed
to the advancement of women in the practice of law in South Carolina.
Susan received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her J.D. from the University of NC-Chapel Hill. She is an active member of Circular Congregational Church in Charleston, where she served as a lay minister from 1999-2009.
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Thomas Kilpatrick
Murphy and Kilpatrick, LLP
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