ATLC Speakers 2024
Ten Tips When Appealing Your Case
Justice Letitia Verdin
S.C. Supreme Court
1231 Gervais Street Columbia, SC 29201
Office: 803-734-1080 E-mail: sbsmith@sccourts.org
https://www.sccourts.org/courts/supreme-court/justices/
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.
She is married to Chuck Verdin, and they have twin sons, Zack and Eli. They are members of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Travelers Rest.
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.
How to Recognize and Best Present the Mild TBI Case
Dr. Randall Benson
Center for Neurologic Studies
9365 US Hwy 19 N STE. E
Pinellas Park, FL 33782
Office: 727-565-4929 E-mail: drbenson@centerforneurologicstudies.com
https://www.javerbaumwurgaft.com/
Dr. Randall Benson is a globally regarded behavioral neurologist and imaging neuroscientist who is recognized for his advances in the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders. During fellowship at Mass General Hospital, in the 1990s, he pioneered the use of fMRI to map language in neurosurgical patients with tumors and epilepsy. Then, while faculty at Wayne State University in the 2000s, his research, using electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain in hemiparetic and aphasic stroke, demonstrated proof of concept for the ability to induce neuroplasticity.
More recently, Dr. Benson’s clinical practice and research has focused on more precise diagnosis in head injured patients, leveraging newer functional neuroimaging, neurosensory and pituitary evaluations, culminating in more effective treatments and improved outcomes in patients. Dr. Benson’s research and clinical practice through Center for Neurologic Studies are strongly focused on disorders of the brain and cognition. Dr. Benson’s commitment to finding novel ways to enhance recovery of function after stroke led to multiple foundation and industry-sponsored investigations into the use of targeted electrical/magnetic stimulation of the brain in motor and language impairment following stroke. Dr. Benson’s research on brain disorders is high impact and cutting edge.
Build Your 8 Figure Damages House
Christy Crowe Childers, Esq.
Childers & McCain L.L.C.
Post Office Box 1752 Macon, GA 31202
Office: 478-238-6692 E-mail: christy@childersmccain.com
www.childersmccain.com
Christy has been helping truck wreck victims and their families for nearly 20 years. After graduating first in her law school class, she formed the personal injury law firm of Childers & McCain in Macon, Georgia. She is the first woman in Georgia to be NBTA Board Certified in trucking. Christy speaks nationally on trucking matters, storytelling, and damages and is known as the creator of Damages House, a new method for concretizing non-economic damages that has helped people assign hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars to pain and suffering.
Earlier this year, as co-lead counsel, Christy obtained an 8-figure result against a shipper in a trucking burn case. Late last year, she was on the trial team that obtained an 8-figure verdict in a TBI trucking trial, where she presented the damages story at trial through lay witnesses, many of whom spoke no English and/or had to testify remotely.
In addition to running her own law firm and practice, she leads the Trucking Case Roundtable for trial consultant Sari de la Motte, assisting lawyers with creating compelling content in their trucking cases using the H2H method.
Christy also organizes adventure CLEs for women trial lawyers, called the Mother Truckers Rally. The 2022 rally was in Montana, where women trucking attorneys from all over the country drove tractor trailers, shared strategy, went fly fishing, and learned from vocal, acting, and career coaches. In 2023, Christy took 32 people to Alaska, where she taught classes in a Yurt between dog sledding, landing on glaciers in helicopters, and driving tractor trailers at the Alaska Driving Academy. This year the Mother Truckers crushed cars with excavators, drove monster trucks, blew up a car, shot flamethrowers and then had an intense day of learning from nationally renowned trial consultants in a Vegas Ice Bar and Speakeasy. Recently Christy, along with two other lawyers, formed a non-profit for women trial lawyers and in the trucking and transportation industry, so that more voices may be added to the mission of creating safer roads.
The Care and Feeding of Your Experts: A Crash Course in Picking, Preparing and Perfecting Your Experts
Lauren Fraser, Esq,
Of Councel Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins, PC
505 Morris Ave. Springfield, NJ 07081
Office: 973-379-4200 E-mail: lfraser@lawjw.com
https://www.javerbaumwurgaft.com/
Lauren D. Fraser is a nationally recognized, New Jersey based trial attorney with the law firm of Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins, PC. She focuses her practice in representing people with spine and brain injuries from truck and auto crashes and unsafe conditions on commercial properties. Lauren serves as a Trial Consultant, traveling the country assisting other lawyers with trial preparation and presentation through focus groups and the integration of creative arts. She is the recent co-author of the AAJ Press book, “Experts: Picking, Preparing, Perfecting” and the author of two young adult fantasy fiction novels. Lauren is the Director of Trinity Studios, an award winning performing arts academy as well as the Creative Producing Director of the Black Cat Theatre Company of NJ where she is the resident playwright. Lauren has been named to NJ Super Lawyers and various other lists that her mom brags about to her country line dancing friends. She is an active member of NJAJ, AAJ and a Fellow of the Melvin M. Belli Society. Lauren lives in Sussex County, NJ with her teenage daughter Anna and too many cats.
Wellness and the Legal Profession Mental Health and Substance Abuse Impact on ODC
John S. Nichols, Esq.
Bluestein Thompson Sullivan LLC
1614 Taylor St
Columbia SC 29201
Office: 803-779-7599 E-mail: john@bluesteinattorneys.com
https://bluesteinattorneys.com/
John Nichols received a BS in mathematics from Francis Marion College in 1978 and a JD from the USC School of Law in 1985. After admission to the Bar, John worked for Rogers & Koon, focusing primarily on property litigation. In 1986, the SC Court of Appeals hired John as a staff attorney and he became chief staff counsel in 1993. John also served at times as a law clerk for Chief Judge Alex M. Sanders, Jr., Associate Judge Randall T. Bell, and Acting Associate Judge C. Bruce Littlejohn. From 1996 until 2000, John worked with Suggs & Kelly, PA, primarily on pharmaceutical mass tort litigation around the country. In 2000, John and Marti Bluestein formed Bluestein & Nichols which is now Bluestein Thompson & Sullivan. In 2017, the Supreme Court of SC appointed John to serve as Disciplinary Counsel. John retired in January 2023 and rejoined Bluestein Thompson & Sullivan in February 2023. John’s primary focus is on appellate practice, tort litigation support, and professional responsibility/ethics consulting. John is admitted to practice in South Carolina’s state and federal courts as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Eleventh Circuits, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the Supreme Court of the United States. From 2003 to 2019 John served as a member of the SC Board of Law Examiners by Supreme Court appointment. In 2012 Governor Nikki Haley appointed John to the SC Commission on Indigent Defense; Governor Henry McMaster reappointed him to the Commission and John currently serves as Commission Chair. From 2013 to 2017 John served as special counsel to the SC House Ethics Committee and returned to that role in 2023. From 2016 to 2017 John served as special counsel to the SC Senate Ethics Committee. John has spoken at seminars for a number of groups, including the SC Bar, the SC Judicial Branch, the Office of Indigent Defense, SCAJ/SCTLA, the SCIWA, the SCDTAA, the SC Women’s Lawyers Association, and the Roscoe Pound Institute. He served on the Education Committee for the ABA’s Council of Appellate Staff Attorneys and assisted the SC Judicial Branch in developing orientation seminars for new Appellate Court and Circuit Court judges as well as attorneys employed by the Judicial Branch. John also served on the faculty of the Appellate Practice Workshop sponsored by the National Organization of Bar Counsel. John has also authored, co-authored or edited several books and other publications for the SC Bar and for Thomson Reuters (West). He served on the South Carolina Lawyer Editorial Board, serving as Editor-in-Chief from 2004 through 2006. John also served as editor of The Bulletin, the magazine for the SCAJ. John serves on the USC “Coaches versus Cancer” committee. He and his wife, Michelle, enjoy
traveling, music, hiking, Gamecock sports, and spending time with his daughter, Beth, and their
grandson, Max.
If It Happened to One, There are Probably Many - Institutional Sex Abuse Claims
Ashley White Creech, Esq,
McGowan Hood Felder & Phillips, LLC
1539 Healthcare Drive
Rock Hill, SC 29732
Office: 803-327-7800 E-mail: acreech@mcgowanhood.com
http://www.mcgowanhood.com/
Ashley represents clients throughout South Carolina who have been catastrophically injured due to the fault of others, whether by medical negligence or defective products. She also litigates on behalf of qui tam whistleblowers under the False Claims Act. Ashley is involved in all aspects of her clients’ cases, from the initial interview through the trial. She works hard to resolve cases through settlement but is never shy about trying cases to verdict. Ashley understands that the litigation process can be confusing and overwhelming and wants her clients to feel supported and confident throughout each stage.
Ashley has achieved successful verdicts for her clients in South Carolina trial courts and has presented oral arguments in both State and Federal appellate courts.
Ashley is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an organization of trial attorneys dedicated to protecting the civil justice system, and currently serves as the Vice President of the South Carolina Association for Justice. She is a 2023 South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in the Law honoree.
Ashley was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. She attended college at Elon University in Burlington, NC, where she graduated in the top 8 of her class. She received the Elon University Top 10 Under 10 Alumni Award in 2013. She then attended the University of South Carolina School of Law, where she met her husband, Drew. While at the University of South Carolina, Ashley was Senior Articles Editor of the ABA Real Property Probate and Trust Journal, a member of the Moot Court bar, and Order of the Wig and Robe.
Before joining McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC, she worked as an associate with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough for several years, focusing mainly on product liability cases.
Whenever she is away from the office, Ashley enjoys spending time with her husband and children, whether chasing their dog, Hercules, joining a neighborhood cookout, or attempting to paddleboard.
If It Happened to One, There are Probably Many - Institutional Sex Abuse Claims
S. Randall Hood, Esq,
McGowan Hood Felder & Phillips, LLC
1539 Healthcare Drive
Rock Hill, SC 29732
Office: 803-327-7800 E-mail: RHood@mcgowanhood.com
http://www.mcgowanhood.com/
South Carolina injury lawyer S. Randall (“Randy”) Hood focuses his practice on representing individuals who have been catastrophically injured in a preventable accident or representing people who have been wronged by an act of a corporation on a large-scale basis. His catastrophic injury practice includes people injured in a medical malpractice case, tractor-trailer collisions, or sexual misconduct cases. The catastrophic injuries suffered by some of his clients have included traumatic brain injury, burn injury, sexual assault, paralysis, amputation, cerebral palsy and death.
Randy is a member of the South Carolina Association for Justice (SCAJ), the American Association of Justice (AAJ), the Birth Trauma litigation Group, the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA), and National Trial Lawyers Association.
Randy served as the president of SCAJ in 2012. He has spoken to many different groups on litigating cases, taught lawyers different areas of trial practice and done webinars on litigating medical negligence cases. He has represented different groups of victims of serial sex abuse.
Drafting a Corporate Rep Notice that Produces the Witness You Need
Carl L. Solomon, Esq.
Solomon Law Group, LLC
P.O. Box 1866
Columbia, SC 29202-1866
Office: 803-391-3120 E-mail: carl@solomonlawsc.com
http://www.solomonlawsc.com/
Carl L. Solomon is a native of Columbia, South Carolina where he attended W.J. Keenan High School (87). Carl’s passion for serving the community propelled him into the practice of personal injury law. To further his service, Carl founded the Solomon Law Group, LLC (2010). He is a graduate of Florida State University (B.S. Economics) and the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in college and law school, Carl served in several positions, including President of the Black Student Union (FSU), Director of Off-Campus Housing (FSU), Chief of Staff – Student Government (FSU), Student Senate (USC), President of Black Law Student Association (USC), Student Senate (USC), and Student Body President (USC).
After his graduation from law school in 1994, he practiced law with the firm Bryan, Bahnmuller, Goldman and McElveen in Sumter, South Carolina, concentrating on civil litigation, product liability, and criminal law. Mr. Solomon joined Gergel, Nickles &Grant, P.A. in April 1997 and became a shareholder in what then became Gergel, Nickles & Solomon, P.A. in 1999. Carl concentrates his practice in areas of complex litigation, including catastrophic injury, pharmaceutical litigation, product liability, wrongful death, and mass torts.
Carl previously served as President of the South Carolina Bar (2010–2011), the Pro Bono Criminal Domestic Violence Prosecutor for the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office (2008–2011), and a City of Columbia Municipal Judge (2011–2015). He has provided presentations at the state level (South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Black Lawyers Association, South Carolina Association of Justice, Arkansas Association of Justice, New Jersey Association of Justice) and at the national level (American Association of Justice). Carl’s American Association for Justice (AAJ) presentations and teachings include Ultimate Trial Advocacy Course: Art of Persuasion, Advanced Deposition College, Rules of the Road for Depositions, Discovery, Mediations at La Fonda on the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM, and multiple other presentations at various AAJ Conventions.
Carl has been involved in several notable cases in South Carolina, including delivering the closing arguments in Johnson v. Collins (video poker case), McBride et. al. v. Davidson et. al. (Marlboro County multiple death case), and participation in Shell v. Richland One and Graham v. State Farm that were both successfully argued before the South Carolina Supreme Court. He has also represented families of the Charleston Nine (Firefighters tragically killed in the Sofa Super Store fire). Excerpts of Carl’s closing argument in Johnson v. Collins were included in The Lost Art, An Advocate’s Guide to Effective Closing Arguments, 2nd Edition (Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr.).
Carl is married to the former Takisha James, and they have two children, Carl and Clarke. Carl enjoys spending time with his family, tailgating, and traveling.
Shaping the Future: The Role of Technology in a Changing World
Kevin Biniazan, Esq.
Breit Biniazan, P.C.
600 22nd Street, Suite 402
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451
Office: 757-622-6000 E-mail: kevin@bbtrial.com
https://www.bbtrial.com/
Kevin Biniazan is a trial lawyer and managing partner at Breit Biniazan, a personal injury law firm headquartered in Virginia Beach with offices in Portsmouth, Richmond, Arlington and Phoenix, Arizona. A native of Arizona, Kevin attended law school at William & Mary where he met his mentor and future partner, Jeffrey Breit.
Kevin quickly developed a reputation as an effective, creative and innovative trial lawyer by trying six jury trials in six months within his first year of practice. He has since built his reputations as a highly sought after trial attorney specializing in high-profile, high-value cases. In his first five years of practice, he has tried over a dozen jury trials and recovered over $100 million in verdicts and settlements for his clients.
Kevin is often asked to lecture and present for national and state trial lawyer organizations including the American Association for Justice, National Crime Victims Bar Association, National Center for Victims of Crime, and Trial Lawyer Associations for Virginia, Colorado, Arkansas, New Jersey and District of Columbia. He holds leadership roles in the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and American Association for Justice, sitting on the Board of Governors for both organizations.
You can break Tort Claims Caps in auto cases: Here’s How
Tom A. Killoren, Jr., Esq.
KD Trial Lawyers
P.O. Box 3547
Spartanburg SC 29304
Office: 864-585-5100 E-mail: Tom@spartanlaw.com
http://www.spartanlaw.com
Tom A. Killoren, Jr. has a reputation for aggressive advocacy in court and compassionate counsel for his clients. Tom has received a consecutive AV® Preeminent™ Rating from Martindale Hubbell® since 2013 and was selected to the South Carolina Super Lawyers List for 4 years.
Tom applies a simple guiding principle to his daily practice at KD Trial Lawyers: “Hard work gets good results.”
Tom Killoren got his J.D. at The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 1994 and then spent three years honing his trial skills as an assistant state’s attorney. Tom worked at Corboy & Demetrio in Chicago handling a variety of personal injury cases before moving to South Carolina.
Since settling here in South Carolina, Tom has developed a reputation for his aggressive advocacy in court and his compassionate counsel for his clients. The results from his hard work in Spartanburg have included millions in settlements, including settlements of $3.2 million, $2.3 million, and $1.075 million, as well as numerous multi-million dollar outcomes.*
“What I like best about my practice are the people I work with,” he says. “I especially like working with clients, helping them build a case, getting a great result, and enjoying with them the fruits of our labor.”
Tom places a high priority on maintaining contact with clients after cases are concluded. He is fond of his adopted state and enjoys being active in community activities. A big basketball fan, Killoren has organized an annual “March Madness” fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Spartanburg for the last five years. He also sponsors fund-raising tennis tournaments for the Habitat for Humanity, the Ellen Hines Smith Girls Home, and the St. Luke’s Free Medical Clinic. In addition, he coaches kids’ basketball in a church league.
He is active in several bar organizations and is the President of the South Carolina Association for Justice 2023/2024.
The Landscape of “Access to Justice” Initiatives: How SCAJ Can be a Part of the Solution While Maintaining Professional Independence in South Carolina
Kenneth E. Berger, Esq.
Law Office of Kenneth E. Berger, LLC
5205 Forest Drive Ste Two
Columbia, SC 29206
Office: 803-790-2800
Email: kberger@bergerlawsc.com
Kenny Berger has been focused on life-changing injury and wrongful death cases since his first day in practice. He was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers from 2013-2018, and a “Super Lawyer” every year since. He received the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award in both 2019 and 2022.
Kenny also takes pride in his firm’s “Giving (Every) Tuesday” initiative which has resulted in more than $500,000.00 in charitable donations over the last three years alone.
System Update: AI Uses & Legal Tech You Can Adopt (Today) to Enhance Your Practice
Liam D. Duffy, Esq,
Yarborough Applegate LLC
291 East Bay Street Floor 2
Charleston SC 29401
Office: 843-571-9500
E-mail: liam@yarboroughapplegate.com
http://yarboroughapplegate.com/
Liam Duffy is a dynamic, high-motor trial lawyer with significant experience in complex, high-stakes personal injury and wrongful death cases. In the last several years alone, he has obtained over $100 million in jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients.
Liam has handled a wide variety of cases involving issues of workplace safety, products liability, tractor-trailer collisions, electrocutions, daycare negligence, and more. And he has faced off in courtrooms against some of the world’s largest corporations including electric utility companies, consumer and automotive product manufacturers, logistics companies, road construction contractors, and retail and hospitality enterprises.
Beyond representing his clients, Liam has been sought-out as a regular speaker on litigation and trial strategy, presenting at numerous seminars around the country to other lawyers. He is also a frequent author and has been published in state and national publications on trial strategy, discovery tactics, and legal tech. He also recently co-authored a leading treatise, Dealing with Objections to Written Discovery: The Modern Approach to Discovery Objections in South Carolina State & Federal Courts.
Liam is the current Chair of SCAJ’s Legal Tech Section and serves on SCAJ’s Board of Governors. Liam’s professional leadership and community involvement recently earned him recognition as the South Carolina Bar’s 2023 Young Lawyer of the Year.