+ William Maxey

+ Caroline Hopkins Newton

Caroline Hopkins Newton is an Assistant Public Defender representing indigent adult and juvenile citizens charged with criminal offenses within Greenville and Pickens Counties. Prior to joining the PD’s office, she prosecuted matters in the Thirteenth Circuit General Sessions and Family Courts, including crimes of murder, drug trafficking, criminal sexual conduct, burglary, armed robbery, domestic violence, and white collar.

Caroline is a summa cum laude graduate of Presbyterian College, where she served as a member of the Honor Council, President of the Mathematics Association of America, and Director of Standards and Ethics for Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the Charleston School of Law, where she served as Symposium Editor of the Charleston Law Review, Chairperson of the Peer Mentoring Program, and student member of the James L. Pettigru Inn of Court. While in law school, Caroline earned CALI Awards in Advanced Legal Writing, Advanced Federal Income Taxation, Antitrust Law, Evidence, Legal Research & Writing II, Partnership Taxation, and Professional Responsibility. Caroline began her legal career as law clerk to the late Honorable G. Ross Anderson, Jr., United States District Judge, and is admitted to practice in South Carolina, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

She and her husband, Andy, are proud parents to a vivacious little girl, Bridges, who is currently the eighth consecutive generation to live on Caroline’s family farm in the Upstate.

+ Eric K. Englebardt

Eric K. Englebardt graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1986, and the UNC School of Law in 1989 where he served on the Moot Court Board. He has practiced his entire career in Greenville, SC, and been a partner at Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard (now Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd), the Clarkson Walsh firm, and Turner Padget before joining David A. Wilson and forming Wilson & Englebardt, LLC in 2016. Eric is a member of the bars of both North Carolina and South Carolina.

+ Jennifer Wells

Jennifer Wells has handled criminal cases on all levels in both South and North Carolina for over 20 years. Jennifer has also written appellate briefs and argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. She regularly teaches at seminars on criminal law across South Carolina.

Jennifer graduated from Hollins College in 1996 with a B.A. in English. While she was there, she worked for then Chief of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, William W. Wilkins, Jr. She graduated with Honors and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Jennifer then attended the University of South Carolina School of Law and graduated in 2001. She went to work for the Honorable Trey Gowdy, who was then the solicitor of the Seventh Judicial District, which covers Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties. Her family relocated to North Carolina, where she was a state prosecutor for a year and then served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of North Carolina. As a federal prosecutor, Jennifer handled complex federal investigations into international drug trafficking organizations and money laundering operations. She returned home to South Carolina in 2016 and was tapped by Solicitor Barry Barnette to run his multi-jurisdictional domestic violence initiative. She also handled federal gun prosecutions as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the District of South Carolina. She won the John Justice Community Leadership Award in 2017. During her time as a prosecutor, Jennifer tried hundreds of cases to verdict, including complex federal drug cases, money laundering, murder, attempted murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child pornography, and DUI.

Jennifer is a board member of the South Carolina Defense Attorney Association and the South Carolina Association for Justice. She serves on several committees with the South Carolina Bar.

+ Reid T. Sherard

Reid Sherard leads Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Family Law practice group. He concentrates his time in complex divorce-related litigation, particularly involving significant assets, income, valuation, or other challenging financial issues as well as contested custody matters, interstate and international jurisdiction disputes, and premarital and postnuptial agreements. He enjoys helping individuals find solutions to difficult personal problems, whether through negotiated settlement or in trial. Reid is sensitive to the private nature of the matters he handles and recognizes the importance of each case.

Reid is based in Greenville, his hometown, but practices across the state. He is frequently requested to speak on family law issues at statewide seminars.

Reid is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2023 Family Law “Lawyer of the Year” in Greenville), South Carolina Super Lawyers® (top 25 in the state for 2017, 2018, 2020-2023, regardless of practice area), and South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Family Law Power List. He enjoys the AV Preeminent® Rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Reid’s peers have recognized him as the top attorney vote getter for Greenville Business Magazine Legal Elite for eight consecutive years. Reid is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and is a certified family court mediator. Reid received both the Distinguished Honors Alumni Award from the USC Honors College and the USC School of Law’s Compleat Lawyer Award (Silver).

Reid also maintains a litigation and appellate practice. He has tried cases in the family court, federal district and magistrate court, and various state and local courts. He has argued ten appeals, including in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the South Carolina Supreme Court, and the South Carolina Court of Appeals.

Before joining Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, Reid practiced for 15 years at an AmLaw 100 firm. He is a graduate of the nationally recognized Family Law Trial Institute in Houston, Texas. Reid commenced his career as a law clerk to the late Hon. G. Ross Anderson, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina.

Reid currently serves as on the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees and on the SC Bar Family Law Section Council. He previously served as President of the Greenville County Bar Association, President of the Board of Directors of A Child’s Haven, and as Chair of the 2022 American Heart Association Upstate Heart Walk.

Education:
University of South Carolina School of Law, JD (2004)
University of Aberdeen, Scotland, MLitt, with distinction (2001)
University of South Carolina, Honors College, BA, magna cum laude (2000)

+ Anthony McCollum

Anthony McCollum, Jr. is an Assistant Solicitor in the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office in the Greenville County office. He handles the prosecution of crimes including murder, criminal sexual conduct, burglary, armed robbery, drugs, and white-collar crimes.

Anthony is a graduate of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina where he served in various leadership roles to include Regimental Public Affairs NCO and Regimental Public Affairs Officer. He was also a member of the Honor Committee and Secretary of the Honor Court. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law where he was a member of the Honorable Matthew J. Perry, Jr. Black Law Student Association and a student member of the John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court. Anthony is admitted to practice in South Carolina.

Anthony is married to his wonderful wife, Cameo Joseph-McCollum, Esq., and they are proud pet parents to an active mini-goldendoodle, Trudy.

+ The Honorable Thomas W. Cooper, Jr.

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. He graduated from USC in May of 1963 with a B.A. degree in history.

He took a job as an 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 Circuit Court Judges’ Advisory Committee, Ad Hoc Rules Committee, and Commission on Judicial Conduct. In retirement, he continues to serve as Chairman of the Commission on Judicial Conduct and remains active, by holding court one week per month and by serving as an Adjunct Instructor at the USC School of Law. He has served as a presenter at The State Bar Convention, The Annual Judicial Conference, The South Carolina Association for Justice Convention, and at the State Trial Academy for the South Carolina Defense Attorneys’ Association. Judge Cooper conducts an annual seminar on Judicial Ethics for the Office of Regulatory Staff. 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 schoolclass there.

+ Henry L. Deneen

Henry L. Deneen joined Murphy & Grantland in July 2016 and founded Blindspot Solutions, LLC in July, 2019. Blindspot Solutions focuses on EI training for professionals and Executive Coaching.

He began his legal career as a litigator in private practice, later being appointed a municipal judge for the city of West Columbia, SC. He served as Chief Legal Counsel for then-South Carolina Governor, David M. Beasley from 1995 through 1997. Beasley and Deneen co-founded The Center for Global Strategies, Ltd. (www.centerforglobalstrategies.org), a non-profit organization connecting businesspeople to international initiatives. He currently serves as the CEO of Global Hope Network International (www.ghni.org). Deneen also served as President of Greater Europe Mission, during which time he earned a Doctorate in Executive Leadership, with a focus on Emotional Intelligence. He now regularly offers CLE-accredited courses on Emotional Intelligence designed specifically for lawyers.

A South Carolina native, he served clients in matters involving the defense of South Carolina businesses and through mediation primarily in the upstate from his home in the Greenville area. He continues to serve as Leadership Development Director for Murphy & Grantland, P.A

Henry is certified as a Mediator in South Carolina Circuit, Family, and Probate Courts. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He and his wife, Celia, have been married for over 30 years and have four children: Laura, Lee, Leslie, and Layna,two of whom are married. Henry and Celia have three beautiful grandchildren.

+ Dan Pruitt

Dan Pruitt has been practicing at his firm, the Dan Pruitt Law Firm since 1993. The Dan Pruitt Law Firm handles cases of serious personal injury and wrongful death in a variety of practice areas including tractor trailer crashes, nursing home abuse and neglect, brain and spinal cord injuries, and job injuries.

Mr. Pruitt graded from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 1989 and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1993. Mr. Pruitt is admitted to practice in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, as well as the Federal District of South Carolina and Western District of North Carolina.

Mr. Pruitt is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Greenville and is a member of the Board of Directors for South Carolina Children’s Theatre.

+ Clark C. Walton

Clark Walton is the principal forensics and cybersecurity expert for Reliance Forensics. He is a licensed North Carolina attorney, an EnCase Certified Examiner (EnCE), and a Cellebrite Certified Mobile Examiner (CCME). Clark holds a Mathematical Sciences (Computer Science Option) degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Walton is a former cyber threat analyst and technical project manager for the Central Intelligence Agency, having served there from 2000 to 2005. In that role, he has briefed at the White House and provided written intelligence analysis to high-level consumers including the Director of the FBI, the Attorney General of the United States, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Clark is a former adjunct law professor at the Charlotte School of Law in Charlotte, NC, where he has taught courses in Evidence and Cyber Crime and has served as an Adjunct Graduate Thesis Advisor in the UNC Charlotte Department of Criminology, primarily in the area of search and seizure of mobile cellular devices.

From 2011 to 2014, Clark sat on the American Bar Association Advisory Committee on Law and National Security, where he was published several times in recent years on issues dealing with the intersection of technology and national security law and data security. He has taught CLE courses on federal criminal computer laws and government authority for digital surveillance and has been featured on local NPR and CBS affiliates discussing issues ranging from Facebook privacy to recent government “leak” cases. Clark frequently speaks to bar associations and other legal affinity groups, as well as technical trade groups such as local affiliates of the ISSA and the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA).

Clark is also an accomplished attorney, having been named the American Bar Association’s National Outstanding Young Lawyer for 2012-2013. He previously worked as an associate for the international law firm of Mayer Brown LLP and has served as both an assistant district attorney in Mecklenburg County, NC and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of North Carolina. As a prosecutor, Clark took well over 150 matters to trial. Walton has provided legal testimony in approximately 20 cases and submitted affidavits in dozens of others. As Reliance’s principal, he has overseen over 650 forensic investigations.

He is also a contracted forensic instructor at the National Computer Forensic Institute, a state/federal partnership located in Hoover, Alabama.

+ The Honorable Charles B. Simmons

Judge Simmons was born and lives in Greenville, SC.

Judge Simmons graduated from East Tennessee State University, magna cum laude. He then graduated University of South Carolina School of Law. While in law school, he served as Chairman of the Honor Council.

Upon his graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to the Honorable C. Victor Pyle, Jr. He then joined the Carter, Smith Law Firm and later became a partner in the Wilkins Law Firm.

Judge Simmons became Master in Equity for Greenville County in 1989. He also serves by designation of the South Carolina Supreme Court as a Special Circuit Court Judge. He presides over the 13th Circuit Adult Drug Court and the 13th Circuit Veteran’s Treatment Court.

Judge Simmons has served as President of the South Carolina Equity Court Association, President of the South Carolina Treatment Courts Association, and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Drug Court Association in Washington, DC.

Judge Simmons is a Recipient of the South Carolina “Order of the Palmetto.” He has also been named to Who’s Who in American Law, the South Carolina Bar Association “Young Lawyer of the Year”, recipient of the Sertoma Club’s “Service to Mankind Award” and the Jaycee’s “Distinguished Service Award.” He has also been named to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals “National Hall of Fame.”

+ The Honorable John Kittredge

John W. Kittredge was born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1956 and is the son of Elwyn Herbert, Jr. (deceased) and Marian Jeffries Kittredge. John married Lila Graham Hewell on June 20, 1981. John and Lila have three children, Lila Marian, Will and Zay. The Kittredges are members of First Presbyterian Church in Greenville. Justice Kittredge graduated from the University of South Carolina, summa cum laude, in 1979. He graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1982. Academic honors include Phi Beta Kappa, Order of the Coif, and Wig and Robe.

Justice Kittredge began his legal career as a law clerk to The Honorable William W. Wilkins, Jr. He practiced law in the firm of Wilkins, Nelson and Kittredge. Justice Kittredge was actively involved in community and state service: Governor's Committee on Crime and Delinquency; Governor's Juvenile Justice Task Force; Greenville Technical College Foundation (Vice-President); City of Greenville Civil Service Commission (Chairman); Greenville County Crime Stoppers (President); Board of Directors of Child Evangelism Fellowship. In addition to his admission to the South Carolina Bar, Justice Kittredge is also admitted to practice before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, United States Court of Military Appeals, United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Justice Kittredge was elected to the South Carolina family court bench in 1991. He was elected to the circuit court bench in 1996, and the Court of Appeals in 2003. Justice Kittredge was elected to the Supreme Court in 2008.

+ THe Honorable G.D. Morgan, Jr.

Judge Morgan was born in Greenville, South Carolina and attended the public schools in Greenville. After high school, he went to The Citadel and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. Following graduation from The Citadel, he attended and graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

After graduation from law school, he worked for McCutchen, Blanton, Rhodes and Johnson for 16 years and then went to work for McAngus, Goudelock and Courie, where he worked for 20 years. He was a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Greenville County Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association, and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. He was admitted to practice in all South Carolina state courts, the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Morgan was elected to the Circuit Court, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Seat 3 in February 2021.

+THe Honorable Letitia H. Verdin

JJudge Verdin graduated from Furman University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina in 1997. While in law school, she was a member of the National Moot Court team and was named the outstanding student volunteer at the University of South Carolina.

After graduation from law school, she became an Assistant Solicitor with the Office of the 13th Circuit Solicitor, and later, the Office of the 8th Circuit Solicitor. It was during this time that she headed the Family Court unit for juvenile prosecution in both circuits. In 2000, she accepted a position as an Associate Attorney with the firm of Clarkson, Walsh, Rheney, & Turner, P.A. in Greenville, SC, practicing in the areas of governmental and general civil liability defense, criminal defense, and family law. In 2005, she returned to the Office of the 13th Circuit Solicitor where she prosecuted cases in the areas of child abuse and neglect and domestic violence.

Judge Verdin was elected to the Family Court as a resident judge in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in 2008. In 2011, the South Carolina Legislature elected her to the Circuit Court, Seat 2, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.

In 2023, the South Carolina Legislature elected her to the Court of Appeals, Seat 2.

+moderator: Kirsten Small

Kirsten Small is Of Counsel in the Maynard Nexsen’s Greenville, South Carolina office. A member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), Kirsten came to the field of privacy law through her work as a litigator and appellate lawyer, a background that gives her a unique insight on how a company’s policies and actions before a data breach can help mitigate—or avoid—liability if a breach occurs. Kirsten takes a proactive approach to information management, working with businesses of all sizes to develop tailored, cost-effective solutions for managing information and meeting data privacy challenges.

Kirsten also maintains an active litigation practice, focusing on appeals and complex federal matters, including antitrust and False Claims Act cases. Her work at the trial and appellate levels has involved her in cases at the leading edge of computer fraud litigation, theft of proprietary information by employees, and the use of social media evidence in civil proceedings and criminal trials.

Before joining the firm in 2007, Kirsten began her legal career serving as senior law clerk to the Honorable William W. “Billy” Wilkins, whom she is now proud to call “partner,” as well as “Judge.”