+ Patrice Sebastian

In February of 2016, Patrice joined the team at Family Legacy to allow herself to better create and grow long-term client relationships. She has been providing forensic, valuation, and consulting services since 2000. She obtained her financial planning credientials in 2019.

She is a member of the AICPA, SCACPA, the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), and the Financial Planning Association. She has also obtained her insurance license for life, long-term disability, and health products.

Patrice truly believes in helping people find financial peace of mind. Her life path hasn’t always been the easiest, but she has used these experiences to help her educate and empower others to take responsibility for their financial health and help plan for successful futures. She is an integral part of our business consulting, financial planning, and 401(k) advisory services as well.

Patrice obtained her Bachelors of Science from the College of Charleston with degrees in business administration and accounting in 1994 and completed her MBA at Francis Marion University in 2002.

Outside of the office, Patrice is known as Mimi. She and her husband, Steve Sebastian, stay super close with their family, no matter how far away they may live. Patrice tries to spend as much time as she can with her grandchildren and has been on camping adventures out West with them. Patrice is also passionate about helping others who are in need of food and shelter. At home she likes to garden and snuggle up with her fur babies while she reads a good book.

Fun Fact about Patrice: She once had 10 cats and two dogs. After she married Steve in 2009, they became the Kitty Cat Brady Bunch, blending her family of four cats and two dogs with his family of six rescued cats!

Favorite Reads: Rebecca, Orphan Train

+ Justin Phillips

Justin joined Family Legacy in October of 2021. He enjoys helping small businesses and individuals achieve their financial goals and appreciates opportunity to work with new clients to find ways to add value.

He is a professionally accredited CPA with over 15 years of experience. He has a Bachelors of Accountancy and Masters of Taxation from the University of Mississippi and is a current member of the AICPA and SCACPA.

Outside of the office, Justin enjoys watching Premier League Soccer, personal exercise and spending time with his wife and son. He enjoys travel and hopes to one day travel to New Zealand.

Favorite Reads: Jayber Crow, pretty much anything by Neil Gaiman

+ Jason Ward

Jason Ward has been practicing law for more than 10 years and recently completed a federal clerkship for the Honorable Helen Burris. Jason’s main area of practice is debt relief, bankruptcy, loan modifications, and financial workouts, but he also has a wealth of experience with various other legal issues including personal injury, divorces, separations, child custody, and estate planning.

Jason has helped hundreds of clients through some of their toughest times in life and always offers free consultations. Jason believes that diligence, communication, and compassion are the keys to excellent legal representation.

Jason was born and raised in Rock Hill, SC. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina in 2009 and his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2012. Jason resides in Simpsonville with his wife, Eileen, and is the proud father of three boys: Edin, Milo, and Hayes.

+ The Honorable Rochelle Conits

Judge Conits is a native of Lexington County, South Carolina, where she graduated from the Lexington County public schools. She attended Lander University in Greenwood and was a member of the Lander College Women’s Basketball team. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of South Carolina in 1987. After college, she worked for two years as a legal assistant in Columbia. In 1992 Judge Conits graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

After law school, Judge Conits worked as an associate attorney for King & Vernon, P.A., Columbia, South Carolina, where she practiced until December 1996. Her family relocated to Greenville, South Carolina in January 1997, and she joined Wilkins & Madden, P.A. as an associate attorney, becoming partner in that firm in March 2000. In February 2006, Judge Conits was elected to the South Carolina Family Court bench and sits in Greenville County.

As a practicing attorney, Judge Conits was rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell. She was admitted to practice in the State and Federal Courts in South Carolina and before the United States Supreme Court. She is an active member of the South Carolina Bar, where she served on the Family Court Task Force and the Family Law Council. She served on the Editorial Board of Marital Litigation in South Carolina Third Edition. Judge Conits has served as a speaker and instructor for continuing legal education seminars for both the South Carolina Bar and the South Carolina Trial Lawyers. She has served as a judge for the South Atlantic Mock Trial Tournament and the South Carolina Bar Mock Trial Competition.

Judge Conits is married to Spero John Conits of Greenville, South Carolina. She has two children, a son, Capers Brooks Williamson, and a daughter, Heather Elizabeth Conits.

+ The Honorable Tarita A. Dunbar

Judge Tarita A. (Ridgill) Dunbar was born in Manning, South Carolina and raised in Summerton, South Carolina. She is the daughter of Roland Hayes and Clotel Ragin Richburg and the late William Nelson Ridgill. She is a graduate of Manning High School, Georgetown University and the University Of South Carolina School Of Law.

After law school, Tarita started her legal career in private practice in Columbia, South Carolina practicing in the area of domestic relations. Shortly thereafter, Tarita served as the Director of Research and Legal Counsel for the South Carolina Senate Committee on Corrections and Penology. Her legal career also includes serving as an Attorney for the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation; Attorney for Spartanburg and Cherokee County Department of Social Services; and Attorney for South Carolina Department of Social Services Child Support Division.

Tarita was appointed to serve as a Commissioner to the South Carolina Human Affairs Board of Commissioner. She also served on the Board of Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina.

Tarita is a member of Augusta Road Church of Christ, Greenville, South Carolina, where she has served as Sunday School Teacher. She is married to Vernon F. Dunbar and they have three children, William Radford Dunbar, Kathleen Eleanor Dunbar, and Richard Hayes Dunbar. She enjoys exercising at the Caine Halter YMCA, reading, and hiking. Tarita is passionate about other’s health in terms of eating properly and using nature’s remedies for healing.

+ The Honorable Timothy E. Madden

Judge Madden is a native of Laurens where he graduated from the public schools. He obtained a finance degree from Wofford College in 1985, and a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1988. After law school he settled in Greenville with the “Wilkins” firm where he later became a partner. In 2006 Judge Madden and the other partners of Wilkins & Madden, P.A. joined the Greenville office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP. While at Nelson Mullins Judge Madden served as managing partner of the Greenville office.

When in private practice Judge Madden was primarily a litigator. He represented people and companies in a wide range of types of cases. Most of his professional time involved representing husbands, wives, mothers and fathers in family law matters in Family Court across South Carolina. He also gave freely of his time to those who could not afford to pay including service as a volunteer prosecutor for domestic violence cases. Judge Madden’s practice included more than 25 appeals to the South Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. He was a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers where he served in leadership positions. Colleagues in the bar honored Judge Madden for several years by voting for his inclusion in Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and other publications. He also served multiple terms in the House of Delegates of the South Carolina Bar.

Judge Madden is part of the faculty of the National Family Law Trial Institute in Houston, Texas, where lawyers from across the country spend a week of intensive training focused on courtroom advocacy. He frequently participates at local, state, and national continuing education programs. Judge Madden authored the chapter titled “Marital Dissolution and Child Custody” of the South Carolina Practice Manual, and served on the editorial board for the treatise Marital Litigation.

Outside his law practice, Judge Madden chaired and served on the South Carolina Education Lottery Commission. Previously he served on the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank board, and the Greenville County Transportation Committee. His involvement in non-profit organizations includes board service on the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, Welvista, and the Upcountry History Museum.

Judge Madden is the recipient of the Charles H. Gray, Jr. Distinguished Service Award from Wofford College, and the Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina Law School Alumni. He is a Liberty Fellow.

Judge Madden and his wife are the proud parents of two adult daughters.

+ The Honorable Marsh Robertson

William Marsh Robertson was born in 1963 in Greer, South Carolina and grew up in Greenville. After graduating from Greenville High School in 1981, Robertson attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where in 1985 he graduated cum laude. He earned his juris doctorate degree from the University of the South Carolina School of Law in the spring of 1988.

Following law school, Robertson worked for two years as an associate with the Columbia, South Carolina law firm of Lewis, Lide, Bruce and Potts, PA. In 1990, he relocated to Greenville, where he joined his father in forming Robertson & Robertson, PA, a law firm dedicated to the practice of matrimonial and family law. For the next 20 years, Robertson practiced exclusively in the area of family law, most recently with Robertson & Hodges, LLC. On February 3, 2010, he was elected by the South Carolina Legislature to Seat 2, Family Court, 13th Judicial Circuit.

Robertson has been a member of the South Carolina Bar since 1988. He served on the Family Law Council from 1998 to 2001, and was a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers from 1999 to 2010. Robertson also served as an editorial board member for Stuckey, Marital Litigation in South Carolina: Substantive Law, 3rd Edition, 2000, and Stuckey, Marriage and Divorce in South Carolina: A Layperson’s Guide, 2001.

In private practice, Robertson was rated “AV” by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, and was selected for inclusion in the 2008, 2009, and 2010 editions of South Carolina Super Lawyers. Robertson has presented at multiple Continuing Legal Education seminars, both as a lawyer and as a judge. He has served as an officer of the South Carolina Conference of Family Court Judges, a member of the Family Court Judge’s Advisory Committee, and an instructor at Orientation School for Newly Elected Family Court Judges.

Robertson is married and has three adult children and two adult stepchildren. He is an enthusiast of music and sports, and enjoys playing golf and spending time with family.

+ The Honorable Karen S. Roper

Judge Karen Sanchez Roper was born in Valdosta, Georgia in 1969. She is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Newnan B. Sanchez of Chiefland, Florida. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from the University of Georgia in 1991, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority and served as a Georgia Girl for the UGA Athletic Department. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University Of South Carolina School Of Law in 1994. During law school, she was named as a finalist in the J. Woodrow Lewis Moot Court Competition and was selected to argue a contested case before the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Judge Roper is married to attorney Ken Roper, with whom she practiced law for over 15 years at Roper Law Firm, primarily handling domestic, probate, and local government matters. She was previously employed as an attorney with the firm of Laddaga, Crout, and Drachman, P.A., in Charleston. She has represented clients in both the upstate and lowcountry Family Courts through her various roles as private attorney, DSS prosecutor, defense counsel through the Office of Indigent Defense, Guardian ad Litem, and Certified Family Court Mediator. She also is admitted to practice before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court.

In addition to her professional activities, Judge Roper has a strong commitment to service in the Pickens community, particularly in areas concerning the well-being of children and families. She has served with Women United of Pickens County United Way, Pickens County First Steps, Prevent Child Abuse Pickens County, Cannon Memorial Hospital Foundation, and the Anderson-Oconee-Pickens Mental Health Center. She is a graduate of Leadership Pickens County, past president of Pickens Women’s Association, a former member of the Liberty and Pickens Chambers of Commerce, and was previously nominated as Pickens County Businesswoman of the Year. She and her family are members of Pickens Presbyterian Church, where she has served as Clerk of the Session, Elder, and Trustee.

Judge Roper and her husband are the proud parents of two sons, one who attends graduate school at Winthrop University, and the other who is an undergraduate at the University of South Carolina. She enjoys reading, watching SEC football, and spending time on Lake Keowee with her family and her dogs.

+ The Honorable Matthew P. Turner

Matthew Price Turner was born in Laurens County, South Carolina. He is the son of J. Michael Turner, Sr. and Joy Dougherty Turner. He is married to Megan (Meg) Wadford Turner of Columbia. They have twin boys, Price and Bates.

After graduating from Laurens High School in 1996, Matthew attended the University of South Carolina, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity. He graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. Matthew received his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2003.

After graduating from Law School, Matthew entered private practice with his father at the law firm of Turner & Burney, P.C. in Laurens. He was a general practitioner handling civil, criminal and family law matters, with a heavy emphasis on Family law. Matthew also served as General Counsel for the Laurens Commission of Public Works from 2013 until his election to the Family Court bench. He is member of the South Carolina Bar, Laurens County Bar, Greenville County Bar, and is a former member of South Carolina Association for Justice and the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Matthew also served as the President of the Laurens County Bar for over ten years.

Matthew has been active in community affairs since returning to Laurens. He served as a Board Member of the Laurens Mental Health Association, the Joe R. Adair Outdoor Education Center and the YMCA of Greater Laurens (Chairman). Matthew serves as a volunteer at Straight Street Youth Ministry in Laurens and has been YMCA youth basketball, flag football, and soccer coach.

Matthew and his family are active members of First Baptist Church of Laurens where he has served on the Board of Deacons (Chairman), Personnel Committee (Chairman), Pastor Search Committee (Vice Chairman), and as a children’s and adult Sunday School teacher. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, college sports, and hunting.

On February 7, 2018, Matthew was elected by the General Assembly as Judge of the Family Court, Eighth Judicial Circuit, Seat 1, to fill the seat vacated upon the retirement of the Honorable Joseph W. McGowan, III.

+ Moderator: Will Davis