SCLAWYERSWEEKLY.COM VOLUME 20 NUMBER 19 ■
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SC legal pioneer joins firm ■ BY JASON THOMAS jthomas@scbiznews.com
ent services through integrated technology and focus on collaboration.” The building’s mass timber construction uses a renewable resource that adds texture and warmth, while reducing the structure’s carbon footprint, according to the release. There are currently fewer than 400 large mass timber buildings in the United States, according to The New York Times. WestLawn was designed by globally renowned architectural firm Perkins&Will in collaboration
Saxton & Stump has announced that the Hon. Margaret B. Seymour has joined the firm in its Charleston office. In 1998, President Bill Clinton nominated Seymour to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, according to a Saxton & Stump news release. She became the first AfricanAmerican woman to be named a U.S. District Court Judge in South Carolina. Margaret In 2012 she Seymour became the first African-American named chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the release stated. Seymour, who retired from the bench in August 2022, will now join Saxton & Stump to offer her services as a mediator and arbitrator, as well as providing support to the firm’s Commercial Litigation, Title IX and Labor and Employment groups, putting to use her decades of legal experience both from behind and in front of the bench to help clients navigate complex legal issues, the release stated. “We are thrilled to deepen our team in Charleston by adding Judge Seymour, who is one of the luminaries of the South Carolina legal community,” Saxton & Stump CEO
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Robinson Gray Stepp & Lafitte recently moved into a new office at WestLawn, the Bull Street District’s newest office development, and the first mass timber commercial building in Columbia. Photo/Brian Knox and B. Knox Photograpy
Firm marks new beginning with BullStreet District office ■ BY JASON THOMAS jthomas@scbiznews.com
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t’s a new beginning for a Columbia-based law firm. Robinson Gray Stepp & Laffitte recently moved to WestLawn, the BullStreet District’s newest office building and the first mass timber commercial building in Columbia, according to a news release from the firm. Featuring 79,000 square feet, WestLawn is the largest of its kind in South Carolina. Created in partnership with Hughes Development Corp., mas-
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ter developer of the BullStreet District, WestLawn gives Robinson Gray the room it needs for future expansion with an office layout that enhances workflow and collaboration and elevates client services, the release stated. The firm occupies the top two floors, including a private rooftop terrace on the fifth floor. “We are extremely proud to be part of this dynamic BullStreet community,” said Cal Watson, the firm’s managing member, in the release. “We are already inspired by the energy of our surroundings and look forward to enhancing cli-
INSIDE: Meet our Leadership in Law honorees We all know that attorneys work long hours and are pulled in a million different directions. Add to the mix a global pandemic, and it’s understandable why many are feeling the stress at work. They continue to persevere, though, exemplified by the honorees of the 2022 Leadership in Law. You can read about them inside these pages. For the first time, attorneys surveyed in Bloomberg Law’s Attorney Workload and Hours survey report-
ed experiencing burnout in their job more than half the time, according to a March post on Bloomberg Law’s website. Despite the pressure of an increase in cases due to COVID-19 — and all the changes wrought on the industry by a global pandemic — these honorees showed up and were dialed in to their clients, and their communities. Inside you can read about what career they might have chosen had they not gotten into the legal profession; some of their career highlights
and which movie or TV show best portrays what it’s like to be an attorney. We have to have a little fun, right? And just a note: Honorees were selected after a nomination process via our website. Got a recommendation for a Leader in Law? Feel free to contact me. Info is below. As always, thanks for reading. Jason Thomas is the interim editor of South Carolina Lawyers Weekly. Reach him via email at jthomas@scbiznews.com.
INSIDE VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS
VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS
VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS
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