Torts & Insurance Practices Section

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES by order of presentation

Senator Richard A. Harpootlian Richard A. Harpootlian, P.A. Columbia, SC

Richard “Dick” Ara Harpootlian is one of South Carolina’s leading courtroom advocates with 30 years of trial experience as a prosecutor, defense attorney, and civil litigator. Mr. Harpootlian’s dynamic and persuasive advocacy style and record of success has earned him a reputation amongst South Carolina’s legal community as a lawyer who can get results.

Mr. Harpootlian began his career as a prosecutor in the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Within two years, he was named Deputy Solicitor and tasked with the administration and supervision of over 20 prosecutors and staff members. As the Fifth Circuit’s chief homicide prosecutor, Mr. Harpootlian personally prosecuted hundreds of murder cases, including 12 death penalty cases. He defended one of those convictions on appeal before the United States Supreme Court. In 1983, Mr. Harpootlian earned a conviction in the prosecution of Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins—South Carolina’s most notorious serial killer. Mr. Gaskins was sentenced to death. In 1990, Mr. Harpootlian was elected as Fifth Circuit Solicitor, winning by a margin of almost 2-1. He served from 1991 until 1995. As Solicitor, he personally prosecuted and obtained convictions in a number of high-profile murder, drug, and public corruption cases. In 1991, Mr. Harpootlian prosecuted and convicted ex-University of South Carolina President Jim Holderman for public corruption charges arising from the abuse of his office for personal gain.

For the last 20 years, Mr. Harpootlian’s private practice has earned him state and national recognition for his efforts on behalf of civil litigants and criminal defendants, including a number of multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements, some of which are listed here.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Harpootlian has been active in South Carolina politics. He was popularly elected and served on Richland County Council from 1986 to 1991. He served as Chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2013. During his first tenure as Chair, the Party elected Governor James Hodges, the first candidate to unseat an incumbent South Carolina governor, and five other Democrats to statewide office. He currently serves as a South Carolina State Senator for District 20.

Mr. Harpootlian’s views as a commentator on law and politics are regularly sought by national news programs. He has appeared on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, ABC Nightly News, NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, and various CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Fox News broadcasts. He is also frequently quoted in local, state, and national publications, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and TIME Magazine. Mr. Harpootlian has been invited to share his experience with bar colleges as a lecture for the South Carolina Bar Association on topics including class action litigation and criminal defense. For the last 20 years, he has lectured newly barred South Carolina lawyers during the Bridge the Gap Program. He is a former chair of the Criminal Law Section of the South Carolina Bar Association and a past member of the South Carolina Bar Board of Grievance and Discipline. He has served on the South Carolina Chief Justice’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Docketing and he is an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Dick Harpootlian is married to former Jamie Lindler, an attorney of counsel with the firm.

Senator Gerald Malloy Malloy Law Firm Hartsville, SC

Biography: MALLOY, Gerald [D]--(Dist. No. 29, Chesterfield-Darlington-Lee-Marlboro Counties.)--Attorney; residing at 1216 Salem Road, Hartsville; b. Oct. 26, 1961 in Chesterfield County; s. John A. and Geraldine Malloy; g. University of South Carolina, B.S., 1984, J.D., 1988; continued studies in the Professional Masters of Business Administration; July 8, 1989 m. Davita McFarland, four children, Donovan, Jonathan, Jordan, and Morgan. Admitted to practice in the South Carolina Courts and Federal District Court.

Past President, South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association; member, South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on Lawyer Conduct, 1996-2002; served on Judicial Qualifications Committee of the South Carolina Bar Association; Representative for Fourth Judicial Circuit for Young Lawyers Division, South Carolina Bar Association; Chairman, Public Defenders Board of Darlington County Bar Association; Chairman, Hartsville Recreation Committee; former President, Hartsville Northern Youth Baseball League; served on Hartsville Downtown Development Board; University of South Carolina Alumni Board; life member, University of South Carolina Alumni Association and helped establish Butler Heritage Foundation. Member: South Carolina Bar Association; Member: South Carolina Joint Legislative Committee on Aging; Member: South Carolina First Steps Board of Trustees; Commissioner, Indigent Defense Commission; Honorary Life Member, South Carolina Public Defender Investigators Association Board; member, Governor's School for Science and Math Foundation Board; member, Jerusalem Men's Ensemble, Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Finance Committee at Jerusalem Baptist Church; member, Appeals Committee for the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education Board; member, Center for Educator, Recruitment, Retention and Advancement (CERRA), Chairman, South Carolina Criminal Justice Task Force in South Carolina Senate 2006- present; life member, University of South Carolina Letterman Association; member, Lions Club International; and life member, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Board of Trustees, South Carolina First Steps.

Recipient of the Home Rule Award by South Carolina Association of Counties, 2003. Recipient of the South Carolina Library Association Friend of the Libraries, 2004. Inducted into the National Honor Roll for the National Library Association, 2005. Recognized by South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice for support of Teen After School Centers (TASC) Program, 2007. Recipient of the South Carolina Public Defender Association Legislator of the Year Award, 2007. Recipient of the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense Distinguished Service Award, 2008. This award was named the Gerald Malloy Distinguished Service Award and is awarded annually. Recipient of the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police Legislator of the Year Award, 2010. Recipient of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Legislator of the Year Award, 2010. Recipient of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Legislator of the Year, 2010. Recipient of the YMCA Legislator of the year, 2013. Recipient of the Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award, 2016. Recipient of NACDL’s Champion of State Criminal Justice Reform Award, 2016. Recipient of the Founder’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alpha Beta Beta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi, 2017. Service in the South Carolina Senate, 2002 – present.

Senator A. Shane Massey Massey & Massey LLC Edgefield, SC

Born in Greeneville, Tennessee on June 28, 1975. Admitted to South Carolina. Bar (2000), U.S. District Court (S.C., 2002).

Areas of practice: Civil litigation, insurance defense, divorce, wills and estates. Education: B.S. Chemistry (Cum Laude), Clemson University (1997), Juris Doctor, University of South Carolina School of Law (2000).

Memberships: Aiken County Bar Association, South Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association.

Served as Law Clerk to the Honorable William P. Keesley, S.C. Circuit Court Judge (2000-2001). Member, South Carolina Senate, elected during November of 2007.

Representative Beth E. Bernstein Bernstein & Bernstein, LLC Columbia, SC

Beth Bernstein graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1991 and graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1994. After graduating from law school, she and her brother, Lowell Bernstein, joined their father, the late Isadore Bernstein, in his law firm, and formed what is now known as Bernstein and Bernstein, Attorneys at Law. Her husband, Rip Sanders, joined the firm in 2010.

Beth focuses her practice on residential real estate transactions and probate administration. She also represents clients in civil litigation actions. Beth was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1994. She also is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States District Court for South Carolina. She is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association, Richland County Bar Association, and the South Carolina Association for Justice.

In November 2012, Beth was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives for House District 78, and was re-elected in November 2014, 2016, and 2018. Currently, she serves on the House Judiciary Committee, and serves as General Laws Subcommittee Chairwomen, and has been elected by the legislative body for three-consecutive terms to serve as one of ten members on the House Ethics Committee, and currently serves as its Secretary. She also has been appointed by the Speaker of the House for two-consecutive terms to serve on the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children. Just recently, she received the 2019 Child Advocate Award from the SC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and has been awarded the Barbara Moxon Advocacy Award for championing women’s issues; the Legacy of Caring award from USC College of Nursing; and the Sierra Club of South Carolina Legislator of the Year award. In 2015, she received the John W. Williams, Jr. Distinguished Service Award from the Richland County Bar Association and the Legislative Champion award from SC Coalition for Healthy Families.

Beth has been accepted into the Aspen Institute-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership Class of 2019. She participated in the 2017 Center for the Advancement of Leadership Skills (CALS) program sponsored by the Southern Legislative Conference and The Council of State Governments. She is a graduate of the 2015 Liberty Fellowship class, a leadership initiative sponsored by the Aspen Institute. She also has been selected as one of Southeast Small Business Magazine’s 2014 Top Women of Influence. She is a recipient of Business Monthly’s Top 50 Most Influential People in 2012.

She currently is a member of University of South Carolina’s College of Nursing Foundation Board and is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Columbia. She is Past President of the Richland County Bar Association and was selected as The State’s Top "20 under 40" in 2006. She has previously served on the following boards: Palmetto Health Cancer Center Board, Three Rivers Heritage and Music Foundation, Columbia Jewish Federation, Beth Shalom Synagogue, Cutler Jewish Day School, South Carolina Philharmonic, and is a 1998 Graduate of Leadership Columbia.

Representative Peter M. McCoy, Jr. McCoy & Stokes, LLC Charleston, SC

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Representative G. Murrell Smith, Jr. Smith Robinson Holler DuBose Morgan, LLC Sumter, SC

Murrell Smith was born in Florence, South Carolina in 1968 to Jody and Murrell Smith. He moved to Sumter at the age of nine and has called Sumter home ever since. He chose Sumter to live, work, and begin his family. Murrell constantly strives to improve Sumter County and is committed to protecting the values and quality of life that makes Sumter everyone’s home. Murrell graduated from Wofford College in 1990 with a double major in history and government. Upon the completion of Wofford, Murrell pursued his law degree at the University of South Carolina School of Law. After graduation in 1993, Murrell returned to Sumter to practice law. Murrell is currently a partner in the Smith Robinson Holler DuBose Morgan, LLC. Murrell participates in the Sumter Palmetto Rotary Club, is a former board member of the Sumter Gallery of Art and was previously on the Wofford Alumni Executive Committee from 2003 until 2005.

Professionally, Murrell is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the Sumter County Bar Association, SC Defense Trial Lawyers Association, the Defense Research Institute, John Belton O’Neil Inn of Court and the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Politically, Murrell was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2001 to serve District 67 in Sumter County. He served on the House Judiciary Committee until 2009. During this period, he was First Vice Chairman of the Committee and then served as Chairman of the Criminal Laws Subcommittee. Currently Murrell serves on the Ways and Means Committee as Chairman. He also is the Vice-Chairman on the Joint Other Fund Oversight Committee. In 2010, Murrell was the Vice-Chairman of the SC Sentencing Reform Commission and in 2012 he was the SCGOP House Ethics Return Study Committee Chairman.

Murrell has received many accolades that exemplify his commitment to public service and love of Sumter. In 2003 he received Wilson Hall’s Alumni of the Year award. Murrell was the South Carolina Solicitor’s Association Legislator of the Year, Legislator of the Year for the Victim’s Assistance Network and the Legislator of the Year for the SC Prosecution Coordination Commission in 2005. In 2007 Murrell was named South Carolina Public Defender Association Legislator of the Year. The Gun Owners of South Carolina honored him with their The Daniel Award and Murrell was given the Humane Society’s Legislator of the Year award. In 2008 he received the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Achievement Award, The State Newspaper 20 Under 40 Award, was the Arson Investigators Legislator of the Year and was the House Member of the Year for the South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police. Murrell was also given the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense Distinguished Service Award in 2009. Murrell was the Legislator of the Year for the South Carolina Human Services Provider’s Association. Also, Murrell received the Legislation Award for South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation, the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association Award and the Community Health Center Champion Award.

Murrell is married to the former Macaulay White of Sumter. Macaulay and Murrell have two children. Murrell enjoys spending time with his family, travel, and hunting. He is also an active member of First Presbyterian Church.

J. Matthew Johnson Chandler & Dudgeon LLC Charleston, SC

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Matt Johnson has litigation experience representing individuals, businesses, and governmental entities in the state and federal courts of South Carolina. Prior to joining Chandler & Dudgeon, Matt was an associate with another South Carolina firm where he practiced civil litigation, including personal injury, business disputes, landlord/tenant disputes, and products liability. He started his practice by operating his own law practice in Charleston, with a focus on civil litigation, and small business counsel. Before he began his practice, Matt served as the judicial law clerk for the Honorable Joseph A. Portelli, JSC of the New Jersey Superior Court in Paterson, New Jersey. Matt lives on James Island with his wife and three children. Away from the office, he enjoys boating and water sports with his family, pursuing his love of flying, and following NC State Wolfpack athletics. Education: Seton Hall University, School of Law (J.D. with concentration in Intellectual Property, 2010) Member, Interscholastic Mock Trial Board, 2008-10 North Carolina State University (B.S., 2001) Admissions: 2011, New Jersey; 2011, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; 2011, South Carolina; 2012, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina Professional Memberships: South Carolina Bar (Torts & Insurance Practices Section Council, 2016 – present; Young Lawyers Division Technology Committee Co-Chair, 2015-16; Leadership Academy, 2015 Graduate); Charleston County Bar Association; Charleston Lawyer’s Club