Charleston's Sarah Wetmore Butler and Caroline Niland attended the 2019 South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association 52nd Annual Meeting in Amelia Island, November 14-17, 2019.  Sarah was the first Copeland Stair attorney to be elected to the SCDTAA Board of Directors in 2011.  Caroline recently completed the Emerging Leaders Program with the SCDTAA and was one of the first recipients of the award during this year's Annual Meeting. This conference combined informative CLE programming with fun activities and gave attendees the opportunity to network with colleagues and judiciary in a relaxing and professional atmosphere. For more information on the Annual Meeting or the SCDTAA, please click here.

Copeland, Stair, Valz & Lovell's Annual Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Seminar was held on Thursday September 12, 2019.  Located at the beautiful Atlanta Botanical Gardens, this two-track format addressed the emerging issues that keep you up at night.  Some session topics included: the rise in tort litigation, putting together the pieces of the wrongful death case, effective use of recorded statements and the material misrepresentation defense, liability exposure in the age of active shooters and the impact bias has on case evaluation and jury deliberations. For more information on this seminar, please contact Michelle Mattox.

This years SCDTAA Annual Summer Meeting was once again hosted at the Sonesta Resort, located on Hilton Head Island.  On Saturday at 11:15am, Sarah Wetmore Butler, presented her Women in Law Seminar Recap.  Her program highlighted on success in the workplace, the challenges that are unique to the working woman, "work-life balance" and more.  Sarah was elected to the Board of Directors for the SCDTAA in 2017. This family-friendly weekend allowed attendees to enjoy fun activities on the beach, as well as as golf tournament and a fun run.  In addition to an action packed weekend, attendees had an informative and entertaining CLE schedule paired alongside marketing opportunities. For more information on this meeting and the SCDTAA, please click here.

Sarah Wetmore and Laura Paton presented on panels at the 2017 Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM) & Business Insurance's Construction Conference on October 9-11, 2017 in San Diego, CA.  Laura presented No Reservations: Crafting a Reservation of Rights Letter After Harleysville v. Heritage. Sarah presented Navigating the Settlement Agreement.

Carlock, Copeland & Stair hosted their annual Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith Seminar on August 24 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Presentations and Presenters: Have Traditional Rules Gone Up in Smoke?  Impact of Growing Legalization of Medical Marijuana - Dave Root and Abby Grozine. Best Practices for Maintaining Your Claims File - Ryan Wilhelm, Jennifer Guerra, and Claire Sumner. Defending the Institutional Bad Faith Claim - Charlie McDaniel and Kathy Carlsten. New Technology, Old Policies:  Are Aging Policies Equipped to Handle the Consumer Technology Boom? - Fred Valz and Melissa Bailey. Apportionment:  Has It Gotten Insurers Where They Want To Go?  - Charlie McDaniel, Graham Thompson, and Kristen Thompson. Additional Insured Jeopardy - Alex Davis, Laura Paton, Sarah Wetmore, Sally Bright and Nick Stewart. Why the Involvement of a Tractor Trailer Escalates a Case - Gary Lovell. Risk-Averse Insurers and the New Juror:  Exploring Possible Links Between Fewer Trials, Millennial Jurors, and Seemingly Bigger Verdicts - Doug Smith and Lee Weatherly. Please contact Michelle Mattox at mmattox@csvl.law if you would like our attorneys to present in-house lunch & learn sessions or webinars.  

Laura Paton and Sarah Wetmore attended Claims and Litigation Management Alliance's Greater Atlanta Chapter Educational & Networking Event on May 3rd.  The event was hosted by CLM's Diversity in Construction Claims Committee and co-sponsored by Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP. Please click here for more event information or to register.  

Kent Stair, Bill Jones and the Design Professional Group presented How to Avoid, Manage and Resolve Claims Against Design Professionals and led a discussion regarding claims against design professionals which included advice on the best practices to avoid claims, how to handle claims when they cannot be avoided, and the various ways to resolve claims. This event was held at the Cobb Energy Centre on November 17. Please contact Patty O'Toole at potoole@csvl.law for more information.  

Partner Sarah Wetmore was on the planning committee for the 2016 SCDTAA annual meeting held from November 10-12 in Greensboro, Georgia. Several Carlock Copeland & Stair, LLP partners presented and were in attendance. The meeting was attended by defense attorneys and judges from around South Carolina. Lee Weatherly presented Preparing a Client to Testify - Taking Your Game to the Next Level. Gary Lovell presented Medical Malpractice Tort Reform: Where Are We Now and Where Are We Going? Gary's presentation centered around the current state of the notice of intent to file suit proceedings, the obstetrical and emergency medicine exception to standard of care, and noneconomic damage caps.

SC Lawyer article by Laura Paton, Sarah Wetmore and Clinton Magill on the possible uses of Fitbit data cited by the Wall Street Journal in Law Blog.  The Wall Street Journal Law Blog is entitled, Prosecutors Say Fitbit Device Exposed Fibbing in Rape Case. Laura Paton, Sarah Wetmore, and Clinton Magill's article entitled, "How Wearable Fitness Devices Could Impact Personal Injury in South Carolina" was published in the January 2016 SC Lawyer publication.  SC Lawyer is a publication of the South Carolina Bar. With the emergence of the wearable fitness device market comes an increase in personalized health and fitness data for discovery and investigation on using information from fitness devices in personal injury litigation. Laura Paton is of counsel and Sarah Wetmore is a partner in the Charleston office of Carlock, Copeland & Stair, LLP.  Clinton T. Magill is an associate in the Atlanta office. With express permission to reprint by SC Lawyer Magazine, January 2016 Edition©.

Article by Laura Paton, Sarah Wetmore and Clinton Magill on the possible uses of Fitbit data cited by the Wall Street Journal in Law Blog.  The Wall Street Journal Law Blog is entitled, Prosecutors Say Fitbit Device Exposed Fibbing in Rape Case.

Dave Root, Angela Kopet, Lee Weatherly, Sarah Wetmore, and Patrick Norris attended the CLM Annual Meeting being held in Orlando, FL from April 6-8, 2016.

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly hosted the eighth annual Leadership in Law awards event on March 10, 2016.  Sarah Wetmore received the 2016 South Carolina Leadership in Law Award.  The event recognizes legal professionals from across the Palmetto State who have achieved success in their law practice, made contributions to society and have had an impact on the legal industry. Sarah Wetmore, Laura Paton, Madison Suttie, Matt Hemingway, Nick Stewart, Jack Daniel and The Honorable Lenna Kirchner, a "CCS Alumn," were all at the CC&S table.

Sarah Wetmore and Paul Sperry attended the 1st Annual National Defect Conference held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Nov. 19-20, 2015.  

Sarah Butler recently attended the DRI 2020 Leadership Conference in Chicago, IL.  During the conference, teams of leaders got together to build bikes for children.  Other highlights of the conference included discussions on Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership Skills, Networking Events, Effective Communication, Team Building, and Creative Thinking.  Attendees included the DRI Board of Directors, State Representatives, State Membership Chairs, State Local Defense Organization Leaders to include their Executive Directors, Substantive Law Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs and the DRI Membership Committee as well as the Presidents of the sister defense organizations, FDCC, ADTA and IADC.  Sarah is the Vice President of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association and will be President in 2021. For more information on this seminar or the DRI, please click here.

CSVL Partners Sarah (Wetmore) Butler and Laura Paton presented at South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association's  (SCDTAA) Construction Law Webinar on Friday, October 30, 2020.  Their segment, The Successful Female Lawyer's Toolkit, focused on best practices for females, as a minority, in the world of Construction Litigation.  A frequent SCDTAA speaker, CSKL Partner Sarah Butler is also the current SCDTAA President-Elect. For more information on SCDTAA or their programming, please click here.

Sarah Butler co-presented at the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association's Diversity and Inclusion Seminar on Thursday, February 20, 2020 in Columbia, SC.  This seminar gave attendees the opportunity to speak openly about diversity, equality, acceptance and inclusion in the legal profession.  Sarah's presentation, So, Now What? A Candid Look at the Progress of Women in the Practice of Law, focused on the obstacles women lawyers face in their occupation, namely sexism and discrimination.  They discussed how the passage of time, political climate and the Me-Too Movement has impacted women in law.  Sarah is a member of Copeland Stair's Diversity Committee and President-Elect of the SCDTAA. For more information about this seminar or the SCDTAA, please click here.

With verdicts in the Southeast on the rise, the potential impact of personal biases and its effect on case management is just as critical to understand as jury bias.  Sarah Wetmore Butler was joined by friend and trained jury consultant, Maithilee K. Pathak, PhD JD and shed light on the different areas of bias.  They provided guidance in attempting to understand and manage those biases, both in decision-making and presentation at trial.  Attendees were given insight to its evolution and impact on overall decision making. For more information on this presentation or firm seminars, please contact Michelle Mattox.