01/11/2026
This spring, I will have been practicing law for 42 years. I can’t say I’ve seen or done it all—but I’ve certainly done a lot. What I still love most is finding solutions and helping resolve real problems for real people.
On January 9, 2026, I was at the Greenville County Courthouse helping two crime victims and their families ensure that the person who attacked them remained in jail.
As I stepped into Courtroom 8, it hit me that I was standing on the very same ground where I once worked as an Assistant Circuit Solicitor and later as Deputy Solicitor—three stories below. Those offices no longer exist; they were demolished years ago and rebuilt as the courthouse’s courtroom wing. Now I was there again, decades later, speaking on behalf of victims—this time as a private attorney, much like I once did while serving in the Solicitor’s Office.
Presiding in Courtroom 8 was Judge Vernon Dunbar. Judge Dunbar and I first met around 1986, when I was fresh out of law school serving as an Assistant Public Defender—and later Public Defender—for Aiken County. At that time, he had just returned to Aiken to serve as an Assistant Solicitor after clerking for South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Ernest J. Finney, Jr. Back then, Judge Dunbar and I bonded over what we believed was mutual “mistreatment” by the presiding circuit judge. In hindsight, that judge probably did us a favor—he toughened us up.
Looking around the courtroom, I saw recently retired Solicitor Walt Wilkins. I had many “baby lawyer” interactions with his father, Billy Wilkins, when I was in the Solicitor’s Office. Billy Wilkins was the first full-time elected Circuit Solicitor for the 13th Circuit in 1974 and later served as Chief Judge of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is truly a legal legend.
Then in walked former Solicitor Bob Ariail. Bob and I served together as Assistant Solicitors, and he remained in that role while I later served as Deputy Solicitor.
The current Solicitor, Cindy Crick—who is doing a phenomenal job—was there as well. I joked that if Bill Traxler and Joe Watson had been present, we would have had every person who has served as the full-time 13th Circuit Solicitor over the past 52 years in that one courtroom. Joe Watson was my former boss, mentor, and sponsor for my admission to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. He later became a Circuit Judge.
Bill Traxler, another former Solicitor, went on to serve as a Circuit Court Judge, Federal District Court Judge, and now sits on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. Solicitor Crick reminded me that Joe Watson’s son, Asher, recently rejoined the Solicitor’s Office. I remarked that Asher was a baby when I served as his father’s Deputy Solicitor.
Out of old habit, I looked around for my predecessor—and successor—as Deputy Solicitor, Matt Hawley, before remembering that he now presides across town as Chief Municipal Judge for the City of Greenville.
We were then redirected to Courtroom 6 for our hearing. As I entered, I remembered the many cases I had tried there in that very courtroom—including the very last civil jury trial of Judge C. Victor Pyle. Judge Pyle, another Upstate legal legend, once called me when I was Greenville County Attorney and suggested—very politely—that I consider suing the South Carolina Department of Corrections over its refusal to accept county inmates. I took the hint, got authorization from County Council, filed my first suit for the County and obtained an injunction—coincidentally granted by Judge Pyle himself. Obviously I had disclosed Judge Pyles call to opposing counsel but to this day, I’m still not sure why they didn’t ask him to recuse.
Our hearing was called, bond was denied again, and the victims and their families were safe—at least for now.
Later that day, I found myself in Courtroom 5, appearing before Judge Chuck Simmons, whom I consider a legal legend, a scholar, and one of the most dedicated public servants our community has ever had.
Years earlier, Judge Simmons—then and now the Master-in-Equity and a Special Circuit Judge—requested my very first formal legal opinion as Greenville County Attorney. It involved judicial compensation and the County’s obligation to comply with state law. Later, in private practice, I sued Greenville County over illegal road maintenance and telecommunications “fees.” Judge Simmons ruled against me. We appealed. The South Carolina Supreme Court reversed him and agreed with us. The very first person to call and congratulate me on that victory was Judge Simmons himself.
So there I was again, standing in Courtroom 5—on the same grounds where I once worked and tried well over a hundred jury trials —asking Judge Simmons to rule in my clients’ favor. He mostly did, though the decision isn’t final.
Throughout the day, I kept marveling at the coincidence—the convergence of judges, lawyers, clients, friendships, work, history, and memories spanning nearly my entire legal career, all unfolding in one extraordinary day.
