Santee Lawyers

I'm a lawyer from Columbia, South Carolina. As an attorney, I apply the law to protect the rights of those who are harmed. Our nation is governed by a system of rules designed to keep all of us safe. My job is to hold individuals and corporations responsible when they choose to break the rules and put others at risk. People come to me looking for nothing more than justice. My goal is to achieve just that - to balance the scales. I am trusted to help individuals and families suffering from life changing injuries. It is a humbling...

John graduated from the University of South Carolina, School of Law in 2004, where he was the 2004 recipient of the Arthur B. Custy Tax Award. John joined Strom Law Firm, LLC in July of 2005. In his practice, John represents individuals in many types of civil litigation, including: class actions, (such as the SCE&G V.C. Summer Litigation, Graniteville train derailment, and Chinese Drywall), business litigation, personal injury litigation, including traumatic injury and nursing home neglect. John also assists those who are applying for Alcohol Beverage Licenses and represents parties who the Department of Revenue have proposed a suspension or revocation...

John focuses his practice on business transactions, commercial real estate development, commercial leasing, and commercial lending. John also has experience representing commercial investors, utilities, and financial institutions in connection with commercial bankruptcy, insolvency, creditors’ rights issues, and all phases of real estate litigation law, as well as commercial and real estate litigation. John is currently an adjunct instructor for the University of South Carolina School of Law’s Veterans Legal Clinic, which serves the legal needs of indigent veterans and their families living in South Carolina. John has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America as “Ones to Watch” in Commercial Litigation...

C. Cantzon Foster, II is the founding member of Foster Law Office, LLC. His statewide general practice firm focuses on personal injury, civil and domestic litigation, probate law and commercial /residential real estate transactions. A native of South Carolina, Cantzon received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Charleston (1995) and his Juris Doctorate from the University Of South Carolina School Of Law (2001). While attending the University of South Carolina School of Law, Cantzon was a member of USC's National Trial Competition Team, the South Carolina Environmental Law Journal and the Order of Omega, the international legal...

Attorney Juliana Menezes is a former Immigration Judge and a trial attorney focusing exclusively on immigration practice. She presided over removal cases at the Boston and Chelmsford Immigration Courts, where she decided asylum, withholding of removal, CAT, cancellation of removal, and adjustment of status cases. Aside from her experience as a Federal Immigration Judge, she was an In-House Attorney for the Brazilian Consulate at Hartford, Connecticut for over 6 years and a criminal Prosecutor in Florida. After leaving the federal bench, Attorney Menezes opened a private practice handling all immigration matters. Attorney Juliana Menezes holds a Juris Doctor from the...

DeMott Law Firm, P.A. practices in the areas of bankruptcy and foreclosure defense as well as miscellaneous litigation. Attorney Russell A. DeMott has been in practice since 1995.

Andrew Copenhaver devotes his practice to the representation of individuals and families harmed by defective products, motor vehicle accidents, nursing home abuse and neglect, premises injuries and other incidents involving negligence in products liability, personal injury and wrongful death cases. Mr. Copenhaver currently serves as counsel in several catastrophic and fatal injury cases throughout Georgia and South Carolina and is responsible for all aspects of litigation from initial pleadings to trial. He is also involved in several class actions in Georgia and states throughout the country. Prior to joining Bell & Brigham, Mr. Copenhaver clerked for the Honorable Dudley H. Bowen,...

Jessica L. Cleary received her B.A. from Westfield State College in 1997 and received her J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law in 2000. She went before the court, for 8 years, representing disabled Veterans and their dependents in pursuit of VA compensation. Jessica is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the United States Supreme Court and is a member of the Rhode Island Bar. She has been accredited by the VA since May 2009. In 2014 Jessica was recognized in...

Bill Condon is an attorney and a CPA. He has practical experience in private industry as well as in federal, state, and local governments. He provides quality legal services and is reliable.

Jane Downey is has been certified specialist in bankruptcy and debtor creditor law with the South Carolina Supreme Court since 1996. She is a member of the ABI, NACBA, SC Bar, SC Womens' Law Association and the SC Bankruptcy Law Association. She accepts creditor and debtor cases, both in consumer and business bankruptcies and has been practicing bankruptcy law since 1990. She is a frequent speaker, particuarly on bankruptcy and domestic law. Visit her website at www.downeylaw.com or email her at jane@mttlaw.com.

Jordan is a Midlands native who focuses on Real Estate Law. Jordan grew up in Camden and moved to Columbia to become a Gamecock at the University of South Carolina. Chances are you may have run into Jordan and his wife Samantha around town or in Chapin where they reside with their dog Tucker. Jordan concentrates his practice in real estate matters, including real estate transactions, title issue resolution, and contract review and drafting. While obtaining dual Bachelor degrees in Real Estate and Finance at the University of South Carolina, Jordan worked for a number of property management...

My name is Elizabeth Franklin-Best and I am an attorney who focuses on criminal appellate law and federal criminal law. I started at the Richland County Public Defender’s office where I worked alongside some of the most passionate lawyers in this profession. Later, I worked at the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, Appellate Division where I studied and analyzed hundreds of different cases, and gained valuable experience arguing in the South Carolina Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. I spent 7 years as a partner in the law firm of Blume Franklin-Best & Young, LLC focused on capital...

J.D., High Honors, George Washington University Law School.
Ph.D., Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University.
B.S., Chemistry, Juniata College (Huntingdon, PA) and Leeds University (England)

Thrive IP, Managing Member, since 2005.
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., 1997-2005.

Dr. Stipkala serves clients in all aspects of intellectual property law, from evaluating freedom to operate to securing patents, trademarks, and copyrights, to providing strategic advice regarding trade secrets and managing intellectual property for strategic business advantage.

Lara N. Browne is an attorney at the Steinberg Law Firm, focusing on workers’ compensation law. Before joining the firm, she served as Legal Counsel for a large self-insured healthcare organization in the Lowcountry, managing a workers’ compensation program for over 6,000 employees. Her background includes extensive defense-side experience, having represented employers, insurance carriers, and third-party administrators at a major defense firm. This insight allows her to navigate cases strategically on behalf of injured workers. After a decade on the defense side, Lara transitioned to representing injured workers, finding fulfillment in advocating for their rights and alleviating their stress. A graduate...

In 2018, Matthew graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, ranking fourth in his law school class. During his time in law school, Matthew served as an Associate Editor-in-Chief for the South Carolina Law Review, where he authored a published article entitled State of Fear: Domestic Violence in South Carolina. Matthew was also inducted into the Order of the Coif and received the 2018 John O. MacDougall Family Law Award. After graduating law school, Matthew spent two years serving as a law clerk to the Honorable John D. Geathers at the South Carolina Court of Appeals. Matthew joined Strom...

H. Ronald Stanley is a native of Conway, South Carolina and an accomplished graduate of Virginia State College and the University of South Carolina School of Law. Mr. Stanley is licensed to practice in both State and Federal Courts of South Carolina and before the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

An accomplished Trial Lawyer, Mr. Stanley has been engaged in the practice of law in Columbia, South Carolina since 1977. He has handled numerous wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury cases resulting in significant jury verdicts and settlements for his clients. Mr. Stanley has served by special appointment as...

Carl was born and raised in the upstate of South Carolina, but he has called Columbia home for the last 14 years. Born into a family of lawyers, Carl knew from a young age that he wanted to be a trial attorney and prides himself in helping others. After high school, Carl matriculated to the University of South Carolina where he graduated magna cum laude from The University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business in 2010 with a B.S. in Accounting. He graduated cum laude from The University of South Carolina School of Law in 2013. He received membership...

Alexandra “Ally” Benevento focuses her practice on state and federal criminal defense, civil rights and civil litigation. She has successfully represented thousands of individuals in state and federal courts. Alexandra is admitted to the South Carolina Bar, as well as the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. She has previously been admitted pro hac vice to, and successfully represented clients in numerous federal district courts across the country. She is a member of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (SCACDL), the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the South Carolina Association for Justice (SCAJ),...

Kennedy was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. She attended the University of South Carolina and graduated in 2018. After college Kennedy moved to Birmingham, Alabama where she attended Cumberland School of Law. While there, she wrote for the American Journal of Trial Advocacy, interned for the Honorable Karon O. Bowdre for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, and received the Scholar of Merit for Mass Tort litigation. During her time at Cumberland, Kennedy served as the Public Interest Chair, an exec member for the South Carolina Student Bar Association and volunteered for Legal Services...

Prior to founding Miller|Conway, David worked as an attorney for a Chicago, Illinois based boutique trial law firm, which was retained by some of the largest law firms in the world to litigate multi-million dollar disputes between Fortune 500 companies. He also worked as a consultant on numerous highly litigious, high-value cases. David also worked with Corporate Counsel for the Law Department of the City of Chicago where he defended the City of Chicago against Section 1983 claims. David gained invaluable trial experience assisting a team of attorneys in a highly-publicized matter involving an Illinois State Senator. David’s team achieved...