PRESIDENT'S ARTICLE

My fellow friends of the Bar,

March 8th was International Women’s Day and March is Women’s History Month, so I would be remiss to not mention a bit of Greenville’s history. This year marks the 100 th year anniversary of the first female lawyer admitted in South Carolina (1918), Jim Perry, fondly known as Miss Jim.  She went on to become the first female law partner in South Carolina at the firm that is today Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd. In 1955, she was named president of the Greenville County Bar Association becoming one of the very first women in the nation to chair a local bar. It was another twenty years before the Greenville Bar saw its next female Bar president, Rita McKinney, in 1993, but it is now regular to have women in leadership and serving as president of the Bar. Another Greenville lawyer, Jean Toal, was elected chief justice becoming the first woman ever to hold the highest position in the state’s judiciary in 2000. We have seen progress in other areas as well – in 1951, Donald James Sampson was the first African American to practice law in Greenville. Brent Clinkscale served as the first African American Greenville Bar President in 2000 and this year we will see our first African American on the Circuit Court bench in Greenville.

I am proud of these pioneers and the great strides Greenville has made. As a Bar, we delight in our diversity while sharing a common bond in ensuring that the rights of all citizens of Greenville County are protected. In an effort to continue our progress and excellence, we have appointed a Diversity Chair, Cory Patterson. I hope you will take the time to read his article below and give us feedback! Also, if you want to know more about the history of our Bar, please contact Melinda to purchase a copy of “Attorneys and Law in Greenville County” by Judy Bainbridge.

Gbar Annual CLE

It was great to see so many of you at the Greenville Bar’s annual CLE. We had 530 lawyers in attendance and a plethora of outstanding speakers. Without a doubt, our CLE is the best in the entire state of South Carolina, and by far the greatest value. We are incredibly grateful for the tremendous effort made by our CLE Chair, Lance Crick, and our Executive Secretary, Melinda Davidson. We are also lucky to have the support of our judiciary and bar members to make this
program such a success – a heartfelt thank you to all of our speakers and volunteers. If you were able to attend the CLE, I hope you will reach out and share with any speakers whose presentations you enjoyed as they appreciate your feedback. Finally, we were very excited to officially launch our Pro Bono Initiative which you can read more about below.

What’s on the horizon for the Gbar?

We are looking forward to our luncheon on March 14 th with the Honorable Gary Hill. I know we are all excited to hear about his move to the Court of Appeals. Please note that the lunch is at the Westin Poinsett hotel. We usually meet at the Poinsett Club so please be sure you show up at the right place!

I have appointed a committee to gather testimonials on health and wellness issues fromGreenville Bar members. We know practicing law is a stressful profession, and we want to make sure we are supporting each of you in any hurdles you might be facing. We are gathering stories on triumphs over alcoholism, heart disease, depression, grief, hearing loss, etc. We are also compiling a list of lawyers who are willing to share their story and mentor others similarly situated. Please contact me (jennbreaux@gmail.com) if you would like to contribute.

Now that we have a fantastic new website, we are trying to get our Gbar dates on the calendar much more in advance. Please look for our upcoming events and save the date.

All my best,
Jennifer Breaux Howe