
Chris Taylor - JD 2000
Christopher Taylor (2000) was formally invested as a Circuit Court Judge for South
Carolina’s Fifth Judicial Circuit on May 9. Several classmates and colleagues, including
Judge Kaymani West (2000), were in attendance to celebrate the occasion.L-R: Hon.
Kaymani West; Hon. Christopher Taylor; SC Representative Chris Hart; Dep. Solicitor
Fifth Circuit Curtis Pauling, III; and Ass't Solicitor Fifth Circuit Donna Green.

Amanda Clark - JD 2024
Amanda Clark was honored with the Distinguished Young Lawyer Award by the Buncombe
County Bar for her FEMA crisis relief efforts after Hurricane Helene. Now at Fisher
Stark P.A. in Asheville, she led a volunteer effort that aided 80 residents and coordinated
over 300 hours of service.

Jake Moore Sr. - JD 1973
Jake Moore Sr. was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian
honor, during a celebration marking his 50 years in law. Moore also received a Key
to the City of West Columbia for his lasting impact on the legal profession and his
community. He continues to lead as Senior and Founding Partner at Moore Bradley Myers.

Trey Branham - JD 1999
Trey Branham and his firm, Dean Omar Branham Shirley, LLP, have been named a finalist
for the 2025 Elite Trial Lawyers Award in product liability. The firm earned national
recognition for major verdicts in asbestos-related talc cases, including multiple
wins against Johnson & Johnson.
Elizabeth “Beth” J. Palmer (JD 2005) and Alice F. Paylor (JD 1977) were two of the four attorneys from Saxton & Strump named South Carolina Super Lawyers

William W. Pollock - JD 1987
Bill Pollock has been recognized again in the 2025 NC edition of Super Lawyers for
his practice in Construction Litigation for the tenth consecutive year. He was also
named a "Top 100 NC Lawyer" as well as "Top 25 Raleigh Lawyers." Additionally, Bill
was included in the 2025 "Legal Elite" list by Business North Carolina magazine for
Construction.

John R, Cella, Jr. - JD 1999
John Cella was selected for inclusion in the 2025 NC edition of Super Lawyers in Estate
Planning & Probate. John was also recognized the Business North Carolina magazine's
2025 "Legal Elite" list in Tax & Estate Planning by peer review. John recently received
NC State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning
and Probate Law.
William “Billy” McGee ‘92, CEO of Gallivan White Boyd, has been named to Greenville Business Magazine’s
50 Most Influential for 2024.
Gray T. Culbreath ’88, of Gallivan White Boyd will serve as President of the Southeastern American Board of Trial Advocates until the end of 2025.
John G. Tamasitis ‘14 and Christopher T.G. Trusk ’15 of Williams Mullen have been elected partners of the firm effective February
1st.
Turner Padget Elevates Ben Calhoun (’17) to Shareholder
Danny Smith ‘74 and Patrick Smith ‘90 of Spartanburg-based Smith Legal Group, P.C. were recognized as a Tier 1 firm
in Greenville for Workers’ Compensation Law – Claimants in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms
William "Billy" Moore Jr. '83 of Moore & Van Allen was awarded the Order of the Palmetto.
The Honorable Amy W. McCulloch '90 was named President of the National College of Probate Judges.
Mary Stewart DeLong '24 and Chase Stokes O'Reilly '24 joined Turner Padget.
Gray Culbreath '88, John T. Lay '91, David Rheney '89 and Ronald K. Wray II '92 have been recognized in the 2025 edition of Benchmark Litigation.
Lesley A. Firestone was selected as a Charleston Regional Business Journal 2024 Women of Influence Award winner.
Robbie Poplin '86 received the 2025 Best Lawyers' International Arbitration - Commercial Law "Lawyer
of the Year" award in Atlanta
Jessica J.O. King '96, Ryan W. Trail '08 and Richard H. “Dick” Willis '81, have been named among South Carolina's 2024 "Legal Elite" by Columbia Business Monthly, Greenville Business Magazine, Charleston Business Magazine and B2B: The Grand Strand.
Mary Harriet Moore '21 was featured in Primerus's Weekly Attorney Spotlight
William P. DuBose, IV '22 joins Wilams Mullen.
Drew English '98 joins Adams and Reese LLP.
Gray T. Culbreath ‘88 (Ranked in Band 2), John T. Lay ‘91 (Ranked in Band 1) and Lindsay A. Joyner ‘10 (Ranked as Up and Coming) were ranked in in the 2024 edition of Chambers USA.
Catherine Hood Kennedy was recently sworn in as the president of the Senior Lawyers Division of the South
Carolina Bar.