Lawyers in the News – July 2023

New associations 

Trey Robinson has joined the Charleston office of Maynard Nexsen. His practice focuses primarily on general corporate and commercial real estate transactions, and he regularly advises and assists his clients in matters including drafting and negotiating supply, distribution, purchase and other commercial agreements and real property easements, covenants and leases, corporate and LLC formation and governance issues, joint ventures and bond issuances.

Austin Ciuffo has joined Spencer Fane’s Greenville office as an associate in the intellectual property practice group. He centers his practice on collaborative client service for inventors, entrepreneurs and businesses in patent litigation throughout the U.S., and he litigates infringement cases in a wide variety of technologies.

Joining Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd in the Greenville office as a litigation associate is Carson S. Phillips, who focuses his practice on toxic tort litigation and works closely with the firm’s asbestos team.

Julianne Oehlbeck has joined MRB Group as chief legal officer and general counsel in Charleston. The former vice president of legal and associate general counsel for Chobani, she will shepherd the legal interests of the engineering, architecture and municipal services firm as it continues to grow.

Practicing in the areas of criminal law, personal injury and workers’ compensation law, Erin R. Conroy has joined Moore, Bradley, Myers in West Columbia.

Law Firms 

Smith, Currie & Hancock and Oles Morrison Rinker & Baker, both construction and federal government contract law firms, have announced their combination. The firm will use Smith Currie Oles and Smith Currie, along with corresponding logos, under the auspices of Smith, Currie & Hancock. The firm will now include 76 attorneys across seven offices, including Columbia.

Honors 

Shumaker partner Peter Silverman has been elected as a Fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators. Co-chair of the firm’s retail and consumer business sector, he has more than 40 years of experience in the areas of commercial litigation and general business counsel. Silverman has been an active arbitrator since 1986 and a mediator since 1990 and is a member of the American Arbitration Association Large, Complex Case Arbitration Panel.

Three Shumaker intellectual property attorneys in the Charlotte and Greenville offices have been recognized as top patent attorneys in the world with their inclusion in Intellectual Asset Management’s (IAM) Patent 1000 attorneys. Patrick Horne, recommended by IAM for prosecution, is a registered patent attorney and certified licensing professional and serves as the firm’s intellectual property and technology regional service line leader, with over 15 years of legal experience and an electrical engineering degree. Also recommended for prosecution, Jason Smith concentrates his practice in the areas of patent application preparation, prosecution and post-grant proceedings, as well as opinion work and client counseling. IAM recommended Alex Long, a member of the U.S. Patent Bar since 2005, for litigation and prosecution based on his extensive experience in patent, trademark and copyright prosecution as well as counseling and licensing.

MADD South Carolina presented its 2023 Dram Shop Justice Award to Officer Zach Azari of the Charleston Police Department at its Law Enforcement Recognition Dinner and Training Symposium. Created by Yarborough Applegate partner David Lail, the award honors an officer who has been relentless in his or her commitment to victims of drunken driving by identifying irresponsible establishments that break the law by over-serving alcohol and putting drunken drivers on the roads.

Professional groups 

Molly Campolong, an associate with Robinson Gray in the Columbia office, has been elected to the Emerging Leaders Advisory Board of Meritas, an invitation-only alliance of business law firms. At the firm, she splits her practice between commercial transactions and insolvency and creditor’s rights representation.