2026 “Year-End” CLE
Civil Litigation Afternoon Session- Ballroom
1:15 - 2:00
Discovery Motions and sanctions
(45 Minute CLE)
Diligence and transparency in the discovery process is an important driver of a just and speedy resolution to a civil lawsuit. This is a discussion that includes an overview of some of important discovery rules, and the importance of following discovery rules, as well as the remedies litigants have available when litigants violate discovery rules. The discussion will include case studies from the plaintiff’s perspective and defendant’s perspective.
+ Kyle White
Kyle is a lawyer in Anderson, South Carolina who practices and tries cases in many different areas of personal injury law in counties around South Carolina and beyond. Over his career, he has tried cases in state and federal court in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Mississippi involving governmental liability, truck and car wrecks, premises liability, products liability, medical malpractice, and other areas.
+ HUnter Williams
Hunter Williams is an associate attorney at Gallivan, White & Boyd. Her practice focuses on various areas of civil litigation to include, professional negligence, business and commercial litigation, and personal injury. She is a graduate of Furman University and previously served as law clerk to the Honorable Perry H. Gravely of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.
2:00 - 2:45
Tort Reform Updates
(45 minute CLE)
A discussion about the real-world impact of South Carolina’s evolving tort reform landscape: what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what it actually means for lawyers handling civil cases on the ground. This presentation cuts through the headlines and talking points to focus on practical consequences for plaintiffs, defendants, and trial strategy.
+ Senator Jason Elliott
Jason Elliott serves as a South Carolina State Senator representing District 6, where he brings a background in law and public service to his work in the General Assembly. He is actively engaged in legislative issues affecting businesses, infrastructure, and communities across the Upstate and the state as a whole.
Prior to his election to the SC Senate in 2024, Jason served in the SC House of Representatives from 2016-2024. After graduating from law school, he served as an Assistant Solicitor for the Tenth Judicial Circuit. He later worked at the federal level as District Director for then-Congressman Jim DeMint, overseeing constituent services and regional outreach throughout the Fourth Congressional district.
In addition to his legislative service, Jason has practiced law in the Upstate for more than two decades and has held a number of civic leadership roles, including serving as president of the Rotary Club of Greenville and on several local boards. He earned his undergraduate degree from Clemson University and his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
+ Chris Pracht
Christopher Pracht has represented families suffering from the loss of loved ones for over
fourteen years. After graduating Cum Laude from the Charleston School of Law in 2008,
Christopher accepted a clerkship with the Honorable J. Cordell Maddox of the South Carolina
Circuit Court. Upon completing his clerkship, Christopher founded his law practice in August
2009 in Anderson, South Carolina.
Over the past fifteen years, Christopher has represented clients in various courts throughout
South Carolina, including but not limited to, the Court of Common Pleas, the Court of General
Sessions, the Summary Court, the Municipal Court, and the Magistrate’s Court. Christopher has
participated in appeals before the South Carolina Supreme Court and the South Carolina Court of
Appeals. Christopher started his law firm as a general practitioner but has since narrowed his
focus to representing folks with Wrongful Death and Catastrophic Injury Claims.
In 2013, Christopher became the founding partner of Thomason and Pracht, LLP where he
continued to focus his practice on his passion for Wrongful Death and Catastrophic Injury cases.
Over the past fifteen years, Christopher has achieved well over 70,000,000 dollars in verdicts
and settlements for his various clients.
In July of 2022, Christopher along with Co-Counsel Cooper Wilson and Mullins McLeod
obtained a 20,730,000-dollar verdict for the wrongful death of Zerihun Wolde. This is believed to
be the largest wrongful death verdict in the history of Horry County, South Carolina. Horry
County is a conservative venue not known for returning multi-million-dollar verdicts.
Additionally, Christopher has handled Wrongful Death cases outside of South Carolina
including, but not limited to, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alaska. Christopher has the
experience and resources to handle wrongful death cases nationwide, by accessing our unique
network of co-counsel throughout the United States.
Currently, Christopher is the founding partner of Pracht Injury Lawyers. The law firm solely
handles wrongful death and serious injury claims throughout all of South Carolina. Currently,
Pracht Injury Lawyers has offices in Anderson, Greenville, Camden, and Summerville.
Christopher and his team recovered over $17,000,000 for our clients in 2023 alone. Christopher
is a member of the S.C. Bar, American Association for Justice, South Carolina Association for
Justice, National Trial Lawyers, and various other professional organizations.
+ Amy Snyder
Amy is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia. She received her law degree
from the University of South Carolina School of Law. During her almost 40-year career,
she tried hundreds of jury trials, primarily defending personal injury, Tort Claims Act and
Civil Rights cases. She has an AV Preeminent Rating from her peers and the judiciary
in Martindale-Hubbell. She has been recognized for numerous years in Legal Elite,
Best Lawyers and Talk Magazine in a variety of practice areas, most recently in
mediation.
In 2023, Amy retired from her litigation practice and, with her husband John Devlin,
founded DevlinSnyder ADR, LLC. Amy now works exclusively as a mediator and
arbitrator. She mediates and arbitrates a variety of litigation cases but primarily
mediates the types of cases she litigated
Amy decided to obtain her mediation certification as a way to use her litigation
experience to help others resolve their legal disputes. Along the way she has learned
that while mediating cases uses different skills than trying them, her experience as a
litigator has reinforced her belief that agreed upon outcomes are always the best result.
2:45 - 3:00
BReak
Lessons from the Federal Bench
(60 Minute CLE)
This session offers a rare inside look at civil practice through the eyes of the federal bench, drawing on firsthand experience in complex civil cases and practical lessons on advocacy, professionalism, and what truly matters when cases land in federal court.
3:00-4:00
+ The Honoroable Timothy M. Cain
Judge Timothy M. Cain grew up in the rural Oakway Community in Oconee County,South Carolina. He attended Oakway public high school. Judge Cain’s parents, as well as his teachers and coaches in Oakway, taught him to value faith, family, integrity and,
in particular, hard work. Opportunities to embrace the value of work were visited upon Judge Cain with frequency during his formative years. He served, by turns, as a cotton mill worker, farm hand, retail salesclerk, “sand blasting” operator, custodian, school bus driver, grounds crew member for the Clemson campus, college mathematics tutor and university residence hall director.
Ultimately, Judge Cain matriculated at the University of South Carolina, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1983 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1986. During this time, Judge Cain married his high school sweetheart Renee Patterson—who happened to be the Valedictorian of his high school class. Their son, Martin Cain, likewise earned both undergraduate and law degrees from the University of South Carolina, and is now a practicing attorney in Greenville,
South Carolina.
In 1986, Judge Cain entered private practice in Walhalla, South Carolina, and then served as an Assistant Public Defender. In 1988 he became a state prosecutor, serving as Assistant Solicitor for the Tenth Judicial Circuit. He thereafter returned to private
practice in Seneca, where he represented plaintiffs, defendants, individuals, corporations, and government entities, in a variety of civil and criminal matters over a ten-year period. During this time, Judge Cain also served as County Attorney for Oconee County and counsel to several municipalities and utility service providers.
In April 2000, Judge Cain began his service on the bench when the S. C. General Assembly elected him to serve as Family Court Judge for the Tenth Judicial Circuit.
During his tenure in this position, Judge Cain served as Administrative Judge and conducted trials in 17 counties throughout the state. He also served, by designation of the Chief Justice, as an Acting Associate Justice of the S. C. Supreme Court on several
occasions.
On February 16, 2011, upon recommendation of U.S. Senator Lindsey O. Graham, Judge Cain was nominated by President Barack Obama to be a United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina. He was confirmed by the Senate on September 20, 2011, by a vote of 99-0 and commissioned on September 26, 2011.
Judge Cain became Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina on June 4, 2024.
+ The Honoroable William S. Brown
William S. Brown is a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of South
Carolina. He was sworn in and took office on September 17, 2024. His chambers
are in the Carroll Campbell Courthouse in Greenville, South Carolina.
Judge Brown was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He earned a Bachelor of Arts
in Finance from Wofford College in 1988 and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from
the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1991.
Upon graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Henry
M. Herlong, Jr, United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina from
August 1991 to August 1993. Prior to his appointment to the bench, he was a partner
at the law firm of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in the firm’s Greenville,
SC office. His practice areas included general civil litigation, business litigation,
insurance litigation, and ERISA.
He is licensed to practice in South Carolina (1991), in the Supreme Court of the
United States of America, in the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth,
Ninth, and Federal Circuits, and in the United States District Court for the District
of South Carolina.
While in private practice, Judge Brown served as the Chair of the South Carolina
Bar's Practice and Procedure Committee (2006–2008) and is a Past President of the
South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association.
He is a member of the Greenville County Bar Association, the American Bar
Association, the Federal Bar Association, and the American Board of Trial
Advocates.
Judge Brown and his wife Lauren have four children. They are members of First
Presbyterian Church in Greenville.
+ Kay McAlister
Kay McAlister started with the United States District Court in March of 2003. She started on the “intake” desk, back when runners brought
pleadings to the clerk’s office for the court to file. She spent 10 years
working for Magistrate Judge Hendricks and Magistrate Judge Austin in
pro se, prisoner and employment case management. In March of 2015
she became the civil case manager for District Judge Timothy M Cain -
now Chief Judge Timothy M. Cain.
+ Amanda Williams
Amanda Williams is the Division Manager in Greenville for the United States District Court Clerk’s Office. In 1999, she began her career in the Post Conviction Relief department of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
In October of 2000, she became a deputy clerk for the United States District Court. In her more than 25 years with the District Court she has served as civil case manager, criminal courtroom deputy, team leader and division manager.