+ Rita Bolt Barker

Rita Bolt Barker is a shareholder with Wyche, PA, in the firm’s Greenville office. An experienced environmental attorney, she represents clients in federal and state courts, as well as before the US Environmental Protection Agency and the SC Department of Environmental Services. Her varied experience includes advising clients on matters arising under federal and state environmental statutes. Rita also assists clients to redevelop contaminated sites and counsels clients on assessing environmental risks and incentives associated with corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and real estate deals.

Rita has written and presented on numerous environmental law topics and has been an adjunct professor at Clemson University and Furman University. She was an editor of Environmental Law in South Carolina (4 th ed.). Rita is a Council member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy and Resources and received the Section’s Distinguished Environmental Advocate Award. She is a Fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers and presently serves as the ABA Liaison for the SC Bar Environment & Natural Resources Section.

Rita earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her B.A. from Clemson University.

+ Alyssa Richardson

Alyssa Richardson assists clients with a variety of economic development needs in South Carolina. Her clients include counties, cities, and large to midsize corporations. She provides advice and counsel to clients in all manner of economic incentives, including special source revenue credits, fees in lieu of tax payments (FILOTS), and development agreements.

Prior to joining Wyche, Alyssa served as Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Tim Scott. With Senator Scott, Richardson prioritized economic development and housing policy to advance South Carolina. At Wyche, Richardson draws upon that experience to provide comprehensive legal and advisory services focused on advancing business growth and job growth in South Carolina.

A former federal prosecutor in Columbia, SC, Alyssa’s time as an Assistant United States Attorney focused on economic crimes, including wire and tax fraud. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and holds a summa cum laude economics degree from Furman University. Alyssa is also the founder and CEO of Develop South Carolina, a real estate development and consulting firm focused on attainable housing. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Santee Cooper.

+ Jay Rogers

Jay Rogers is a senior equity partner who works out of the Greenville, South Carolina and Washington, DC offices of Nelson Mullins. His practice focuses on international trade issues, particularly tariff and trade remedy work involving Antidumping and Countervailing Duty (AD/CVD) investigations. He handles compliance, planning and dispute resolution matters related to United States Customs and Tariff issues and has appeared multiple times in the United States Court of International Trade (“CIT”), successfully representing both U.S. and foreign clients.

For example, Jay recently won an appeal to the CIT overturning an adverse determination by the US Department of Commerce in its administrative review of an Antidumping Duty Order. Following an Order from the CIT, Commerce lowered the client’s Antidumping Duty rate from 66.7% to Zero Percent (0%). Grupo Acerero S.A. de C.V. v. United States, 48 CIT ___, 698 F. Supp. 3d 1320 (2024).

Jay also successfully protested the liquidation by the United States Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) in 2024 of duties levied on certain products imported from China, resulting in a $2.9 million refund to the client.

Finally, Jay’s tariff team recently reversed an adverse Binding Letter Ruling by US Customs and Border Protection regarding a country of origin dispute, resulting in tariff savings worth high seven figures to the client.

+ David Thompson

David A. Thompson started his law career practicing commercial litigation in Dallas, Texas, his hometown. In 2018, David and his wife, Paige, moved to Greenville for Paige’s pediatric residency at what is now Prisma Health. Shortly thereafter, David joined Thomas, Fisher & Edwards. David now focuses his practice on taxation, complex estate planning, probate and trust law, and business formation and planning. Licensed in four states, David can advise clients in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. However, his practice is primarily focused on South Carolina and North Carolina clients, along with making use of certain unique trust strategies available in Tennessee. In contrast to his previous work, David enjoys the proactive nature of his current practice areas by strategizing with his clients to preempt potential issues before they arise. David promotes the success of his clients by equipping them with the knowledge they need to make the best-informed decisions for themselves, their businesses, and their families.

David draws on a strong educational foundation in his legal practice.  After earning a BS in Accounting (cum laude) and a Master of Accountancy from Case Western Reserve University (where he also played four years of collegiate basketball), he continued his education by obtaining his law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas. David’s education culminated in 2021, when David earned his LLM in Taxation from the University of Alabama, graduating magna cum laude.

Lastly, David actively contributes in the Upstate by participating in the Greenville Estate Planning Council (as member and director), the Greenville Estate Planning Study Group, and the Greenville County Bar Association. David was recently elected as a member of the South Carolina Bar Tax Council and was recognized in 2023 on the Best and Brightest 35 and Under list created by Greenville Business Magazine © . In addition, David has been recognized in various categories in (i) The Best Lawyers in America ®  2025 for work in: Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Tax Law, and Trusts and Estates, and (ii) Legal Elite of the Upstate by Greenville Business Magazine ©  for 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 (most recently in the following categories: Estate and Trust – Planning; Tax and Estate Planning (Top Vote Recipient); Corporate Law – Business Organizations; and Corporate Law – Mergers & Acquisitions).

+ The Honorable Jacquelyn D. Austin

The Honorable Jacquelyn D. Austin has been a U.S. District Judge in the District of South Carolina since January 2024. Before being elevated to the District Court, Judge Austin was a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of South Carolina for almost 13 years.

Judge Austin attended the University of South Carolina and obtained both an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and a law degree. Judge Austin worked as an engineer for three years before attending law school. Following law school, Judge Austin clerked for the late Matthew J. Perry, Jr., District Judge for the District of South Carolina. Upon completing her clerkship, Judge Austin entered private practice with her most recent experience as a partner with the law firm Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP. Judge Austin has experience drafting and prosecuting United States and European patent applications and has experience in commercial litigation involving matters such as patent infringement, trademark and copyright disputes, racial discrimination, the Fair Housing Act, product liability, qui tams, and other complex litigation matters. Judge Austin is currently a member of the Bolsh Judicial Institute Class of 2027 at Duke School of Law working on her Masters in Judicial Studies.

+ Moderator: Sheria Clarke

Sheria is a dynamic litigator and former prosecutor with extensive experience in white collar and regulatory matters, government investigations, and Congressional oversight investigations. Characterized by her diplomatic disposition, she is particularly skilled in forging cross-party relationships which makes her particularly effective in avoiding and resolving conflict. Sheria blends her varied background in complex policy, litigation, and criminal matters with her prosecutorial expertise, legislative acumen, and exceptional investigative prowess.

Prior to her return to private practice, Sheria served as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice where she handled False Claims Act litigation, whistleblower investigations, as well as a variety of criminal matters. Sheria has nearly a decade of experience working across multiple administrations in the U.S. House of Representatives. She served in several key positions, including as Staff Director for the Committee on Oversight and Government and Majority Counsel for the House Committee on Ethics. Throughout her career, she has provided both legal and investigative work on scores of congressional hearings, interviewing witnesses, developing investigative strategies, and securing access to documents from both the Obama and Trump Administrations.

An established thought leader, Sheria is regularly tapped by local and national media syndications to provide legal analysis and commentary on topical subject matters. Additionally, she teaches at Wofford College where she is an adjunct professor of government.