Clarks Hill Lawyers

Litigation practice includes land use, governmental liability, civil rights and injuries. Also elder law services including probate, guardianships, Medicaid, minor trusts and conservatorships, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and living wills.

Jacob Born is a founding partner at SBLTV and leads the firm’s litigation team, focusing on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. He represents clients in complex matters involving nursing home neglect, trucking accidents, industrial injuries, and product liability. Jacob takes pride in securing meaningful results for individuals and families facing powerful corporate defendants. A Columbia native, Jacob earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and his J.D. from the Charleston School of Law. He is licensed to practice in both South Carolina and Georgia and is active in numerous professional organizations, including the American Association for Justice,...

Anthony L. (Tony) Harbin is a trial lawyer who concentrates his practice in serious personal injury, products liability, and wrongful death cases as well as nursing home abuse and neglect cases. He is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum which is limited to trial lawyers with verdicts or settlements of Two Million Dollars or more, and he has been named as a Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the American Association for Justice. Tony is AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale Hubbell, the highest possible rating, is a South Carolina Super Lawyer, and is a National Trial Lawyers Association...

Melinda grew up in the greater Columbia, South Carolina area where she currently resides. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice from the University of South Carolina and graduated from Charlotte School of Law with honors (cum laude). While in law school she was inducted into the prestigous Order of the Crown (honor society) and received a merit scholarship. After law school, Melinda spent over eight years at a public interest law firm practicing family law. Melinda was the head family law attorney and was recognized as Attorney of the Year in 2016 while employed at...

Danny Vega has been fortunate to practice law representing injured workers for nearly 20 years. Danny has represented injured workers all over the state of South Carolina. Danny was born to missionary parents and grew up in the mission field. Although a family of humble means, being a missionary kid meant moving frequently. By the time he was ten, Danny lived in Columbia (where he was born), Atlanta, Jacksonville and San Juan. Throughout his life he has also lived in Charleston, Miami, Orlando, Virginia Beach and finally Columbia once again. Danny has been married for more than 25 years and is...

Jill Lesley is a passionate advocate for individuals facing challenging legal battles, bringing a deep commitment to justice and fairness to her work at Cromer Babb Porter, LLC. Born in Columbia, South Carolina, and raised in the Atlanta metro area, Jill returned to her hometown to pursue a career dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of others. Jill earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with honors from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Combining her academic background in human behavior with her drive for advocacy, she attended the University of South Carolina School of Law, graduating in May...

As a landowner, I believe that everyone deserves to be treated with respect by their government. The forced acquisition of private property can be an extraordinarily stressful and harmful experience for individuals and businesses involved. My role is to alleviate that burden and ensure that my clients are treated fairly and receive just compensation. I take pleasure in addressing the various challenges that can arise during the condemnation process and uphold a belief in a collaborative and flexible approach to resolving cases.

John is a 1966 History graduate of The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina; earning his J.D. in 1969 from the University of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. In addition, John attended graduate school at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois (1970). He is a member of the State Bar Associations of South Carolina, Florida, and Michigan. Currently, John has offices in Columbia and Edisto Beach, South Carolina handling primarily DUI, drug cases, and criminal matters. He often testifies as an expert witness in police procedures, high speed chases, and other law enforcement practices. John serves as Counsel for the South Carolina Trooper's Association,...

Nicholas G. Callas has been practicing law in South Carolina since 1991. He has extensive knowledge and skill representing clients in Workers' Compensation, Personal Injury, and Social Security Disability matters. Mr. Callas provides aggressive, determined, and experienced representation, focused on the best possible results.
He is dedicated to recovering the compensation you need and deserve.

Mr. Callas received his B.A., cum laude, from Boston College in 1982. He earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1990. Mr. Callas's prior experience includes work as an Assistant State Prosecuting Attorney, Fifth Circuit Solicitor, Richland County. Additionally, he is a...

Since 2014, Attorney Mark Sawyer has been a part of the George Sink P.A. Injury Lawyers team. At the firm, Sawyers specifies his practice in law to the areas of personal injury cases, primarily those that involve automobile accidents, as well as litigation cases. It is his passion for litigation and helping others that drives Sawyer to obtaining maximum compensation for each of his clients. He takes the time to understand each individual case and promises to stand beside each client through every step of each case. Before practicing law, Sawyer attended the University of Virginia, as an Echols Scholar,...

Jake Modla has practiced law in North and South Carolina since 1990, focusing on labor and employment matters. He began his career representing employers at Haynsworth Baldwin Johnson and Greaves and Ogletree Deakins, handling discrimination, wage and hour, and civil rights cases and appearing before the United States Supreme Court in O’Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corporation. In 2004, Jake joined Family Dollar Stores, serving as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and later Vice President of HR Operations. He later practiced at Littler Mendelson, the world’s largest labor and employment law firm, where he defended employers in federal litigation and advised...

David's legal practice is devoted exclusively to litigation. Litigation is a broad term, but it generally refers to any type of legal dispute resolution process that may eventually require resolution through the court system. While there are many areas of litigation, David primarily focuses on legal disputes: (1) arising out of eminent domain and condemnation (government taking a private landowner's property); (2) business disputes, such as contract or lease disputes, partnership breakups, or disputes with governmental bodies; and (3) construction, both plaintiff and defendants, construction defects, breach contract, and professional negligence of design professionals. David has...

Ramie Shalabi practices personal injury and workers’ compensation law. He was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina by a textile mill worker and a seamstress. He began working at a local grocery store at the age of 14 and has not stopped working since. He attended the University of South Carolina where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science while minoring in Business Administration. Upon graduation, Ramie attended one of the top law schools in the southeast – Wake Forest University School of Law. While in law school, Ramie was an editor for the Wake...

George’s practice is concentrated in workers’ compensation and personal injury claims. He has handled hundreds of cases before the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission, including through trial and appeal before the South Carolina Court of Appeals. George has likewise handled hundreds of cases in state and federal courts throughout South Carolina. He is passionate about representing injury victims and takes great pride in the personal relationship he builds with each of his clients. George holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from The Citadel. After graduating, he accepted a Commission into the U.S. Air Force. He deployed multiple times during his...

Alissa's practice is almost entirely devoted to criminal defense. She works for Touma Law Group and is the principal attorney in the Columbia, South Carolina office. Alissa attended the State University of New York at Buffalo to earn her law degree and MBA. She practiced law in New York until 2013 when she migrated to South Carolina. Alissa has been practicing criminal law since 2014, when she began working for Jack Swerling. She practiced under Jack's guidance until early 2024 when she moved to Touma Law Group. Alissa is originally from New York, and an avid New York Jets fan....

James Christopher Sproat (Jim) is an attorney with Smith, Born, Leventis, Taylor & Vega, LLC. Mr. Sproat received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of South Carolina in 2008 and his Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2011. While at the University of Cincinnati, Mr. Sproat served as both the Student Bar Association President and the Managing Editor of the Immigration and Nationality Law Review. He was admitted to practice law in South Carolina in 2011, after working with both the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio...

Wesley concentrates his practice in commercial real estate development. He advises developers, buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, lenders, and investors with regard to real estate development, sales, acquisitions, financing, leasing, construction, land use and zoning, and title insurance matters. Wesley initially served as outside counsel to a commercial real estate development company which focused on large shopping center and free standing drugstore development. He continued his practice at a large firm headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina before co-founding Graybill, Lansche & Vinzani, LLC.

John practices in business transactions and concentrates his practice in commercial real estate development, commercial real estate leasing (with an emphasis on retail leasing), commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions and marina/resort development. John advises developers, investors, lenders, buyers and sellers with regard to financing, leasing, land use and development, conservation easements, construction, real estate title insurance, and all aspects of structuring commercial loan and business transactions. John enjoyed similar practices with large firms headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina before co-founding Graybill & Lansche, LLC. John graduated with Honors in Psychology from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia....

Franklin McGuire Jr. is a trial lawyer and an Army National Guard officer in Columbia, SC. Originally from Lexington, SC, Franklin was a small business owner and entrepreneur for several years before going to law school. He values his time spent in business and the unique perspective it gave him on the law and how it can impact normal people and small business owners — both for good and for bad. Today, Franklin loves his practice at Goings Law Firm, where he spends his time helping normal people navigate the chaos of the insurance world after the worst has happened. Whether...

Andrew Fajardo is an experienced workers’ compensation attorney who has argued cases and handled appellate work before the State Workers’ Compensation Commission and the appellate courts. He has focused his legal career almost exclusively in the field of workers’ compensation. Andrew joined Chappell, Smith & Arden in July of 2015. He brought with him innumerable skills and diverse experiences that have aided the firm in helping protect and compensate workers. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys playing classical piano. He also appreciates most anything associated with motor sports and spending time on outdoor activities such as hunting and...

Mr. Creech was born and raised in Greenville, S.C. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., in 1994. He then attended the University of South Carolina School of Law and graduated in 1997. He began his legal career as a judicial law clerk for Judge C. Victor Pyle Jr.. After his judicial clerkship, Mr. Creech became a prosecutor, where he handled almost every type of criminal case from simple DUI cases to murder. Mr. Creech also received extensive training in trial advocacy within the internal training system of the District Attorney’s Office...

With over 25 years of experience, Attorney Michael Hart represents clients, exclusively, in the areas of personal injury, automobile accidents, and workers’ compensation. His empathy extends beyond the courtroom, as many of his family members have come from the blue collar working class. It is this empathy and passion for the greater good of people that has allowed Hart to be a successful lawyer, representing his clients relentlessly day in and day out. Before his career as a lawyer, Hart attended Indiana University where he graduate with his degree in Secondary Education. After discovering his strong passion for people and...

Mario joined Strom Law Firm in February 2000. He is a member of the South Carolina, Georgia and New York State Bars. He is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, United States District for the District of Colorado, The Supreme Court...

Daniel L. Draisen is a native of Anderson, South Carolina. A graduate of Westside High School, he received his B.A. from the University of South Carolina in 1994, and obtained his law degree from the University of Tulsa in 1997. Mr. Draisen has case experience in all federal and state courts. In addition to casework for clients, he has served on the Practice and Procedures Committee and the Ethics Advisory Committee of the South Carolina Bar. Mr. Draisen was elected to serve as a Delegate in the SC Bar House of Delegates, and is the regional chair and the 10th...

R. Lawton Harper concentrates his practice solely in workers’ compensation. He was born and raised in Beaufort, South Carolina. He left home to attend Elon University in North Carolina, where he graduated in 2017 with a degree in History and Education. After college, he returned to the Lowcountry and served South Carolina as a social studies teacher and basketball coach at Summerville High School. He then enrolled at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he graduated with honors in 2022. He is excited to once again be helping the people of South Carolina. In his free time, Lawton...

Maggie Chappell practices in the areas of personal injury and mass torts. She has handled truck and auto accidents and catastrophic injury cases. She also works on the mass torts team which handles 3M combat earplug cases and talcum powder ovarian cancer cases, among many more. Maggie was born and raised in Inman, South Carolina. She moved just down the road to attend Wofford College and graduated in 2012 with a degree in English. After college, she worked as a legal assistant for Mark Arden before attending the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2015. Maggie was lucky to...

Ryan focuses his practice in business transactions, commercial real estate development, commercial leasing and commercial lending. Ryan is capable of handling all aspects of commercial real estate transactions representing clients in their capacities as lenders, purchasers, sellers, developers, landlords and tenants. His familiarity with the aspects of a complex real estate transaction allows him to focus on the details necessary to complete the transaction efficiently and confidently. Ryan began his career at a large firm headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina before joining Graybill, Lansche & Vinzani, LLC at the end of 2010.

Haley graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law and concentrated her studies in real estate and taxation. Haley is a licensed real estate broker and began her career managing and selling real estate. Her practice involves advising lenders, developers, investors, buyers and sellers with regard to all aspects of commercial real estate transactions.

After working as an attorney in Jackson, Mississippi, Attorney Tom Eller returned to his home state of South Carolina. Here, Eller continued his practice, focusing on personal injury as well as worker’s compensation. His experience in personal injury extends to cases which involve car accidents, defective products, as well as preventable harm resulting from the negligence of others. His passion for helping clients facing a personal hardship is what drives him to fight for maximum compensation in each case. He understands the strains that personal injuries place on a person both mentally and physically and assures that he will stand...

Lexington Criminal Defense and Personal Injury Attorney

Margaret A. "Meg" Collins is a lifelong native of Columbia, South Carolina. She attended the University of South Carolina Honors College, majoring in International Relations with a minor in Business Administration. After employment with the South Carolina Senate, Ms. Collins attended the University of South Carolina School of Law, while concurrently clerking for a small firm that focused on secured transactions, collections, creditor bankruptcy and contract law. Once licensed in 1997, Ms. Collins developed a very successful private practice encompassing general civil and domestic litigation, computer and information technology law, business, procurement, municipal and local government representation and...

Since 1997, Attorney Bob Jung has practiced law in the state of South Carolina. Because he is passionate about helping victims and families who are facing harm due to the negligence of other people, Bob focuses the majority of his practice on personal injury cases. However, he also handles workers’ compensation claims frequently. Prior to practicing law, Bob attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in History. During his time at Furman, Bob became a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, where he met Tom Eller, a fellow George Sink, P.A....