Bannon Law Group, LLC
10 Westbury Park Way, Ste. A
Bluffton, SC 29910
(843) 815-4505
bannonlawgroup.com
What is your area of practice?
Jim handles criminal defense and Meredith handles residential real estate closings.
What is your most memorable case?
Pre-BLG, we were prosecutors here locally. When Meredith was 8 months pregnant, we were able to try a murder case together. There were a lot of pregnant pauses.
How do you avoid bringing the job home?
By embracing the fact that boundaries do not exist and that our daughter will have a colorful childhood.
What inspired you to become a lawyer?
We learn something new every day and each day pushes us to be better and stronger. Being a lawyer allows you to dabble in everything.
What is the most valuable thing you do for your clients?
We aim to demystify the legal process and make them feel comfortable be it purchasing a home or facing criminal charges.
What’s something your clients would never guess about you?
Jim was a professional actor prior to being a lawyer, which helps in the courtroom. Meredith was most definitely not a professional actor.
What’s the most important tool you use?
Compassion and common sense are our most used skills. We ask if it makes sense for our clients and the overall goal.
What’s the last great book you read for pleasure?
We both agree that living in the Lowcountry, The Prince of Tides is a prerequisite to understanding where we live.
Beth Ann Prince
Prince Law Firm, P.C.
200 Central Ave.
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
(843) 681-9000
bethprincelawfirm.com
On her solo family law practice: “I don’t just represent ‘clients.’ I represent people.” My approach to the practice of family law is an integration of serious trial experience with compassionate understanding. Family law clients need strong, solid legal advice, but they also want to be heard. To ensure I can effectively tell each client’s “story” to the court, I dedicate myself to learning the specific details that make each person’s case different.
Emerging issues in family law practice: It is not enough to be knowledgeable about just the law. Modern family law practitioners must stay well-versed on increasingly common issues affecting their cases, such as mental illness, personality disorders, addiction, and abuse. How we present these issues in court may profoundly impact the outcome, particularly regarding child custody, which is why we often use expert witnesses to assist us.
We also often use experts to assist in presenting complex financial issues to the court. For example, many local individuals are self-employed, which poses a special set of financial issues, such as income verification and business valuations. Experience in handling complex issues and utilizing financial experts can be a crucial factor in achieving a favorable financial result in your case.
On experience: My legal career has afforded me trial experience from both sides of the bench: I started as an Assistant Solicitor and Special Gun Prosecutor for the 14th Judicial Circuit. Following that, I was in private practice as a civil and family trial attorney. Eventually, I was appointed as a Magistrate Court Judge, where I was responsible for the jury trial docket. After I finally returned to private practice, I quickly narrowed my focus exclusively to family law because that was where I felt I was making the greatest difference in my clients’ lives.
On family and home: Hilton Head has grown tremendously since the days when I could ride my moped from my father’s house in Sea Pines to the (old two-lane) bridge without the burden of the traffic we all expect today. I remember well the car dealership that used to occupy the property where my office is currently located. I love the Lowcountry, and I love practicing law in our community. My husband and I are proud to be raising our daughter here along with our three dogs: Duke, Jax, and Ozzy.
Butler & College, LLC
152 State Street, Suite 201
Bluffton, SC 29910
(843) 277-6220
At Butler & College, LLC, we focus our practice on helping businesses, individuals, and families with their real estate and estate planning needs in a manner that is honest, affordable, and customer oriented. Our firm has eight convenient locations stretching from Calabash, N.C. to Bluffton, S.C.
Owners Ryan Butler, Andrew College, Ashley Brown, and Frances Reindollar believe our team should be with you from contract to closing. Though many of our clients never see us except for the day they sign their closings documents, it is important to understand how much your real estate closing attorney is working for you behind the scenes. From researching your title and ensuring the closing documents have been executed, Ashley, Natalia, and the Bluffton team make sure things go smoothly on closing day.
In addition to handling real estate transactions, attorney Natalia Chandler is an experienced litigator. She can assist with minor criminal matters and family law related issues.
Tom McNutt is the estate planning attorney for the Bluffton location. He knows that no matter where you are in your life’s journey, you have undoubtedly worked hard to build your personal and financial legacies. You worry about what would happen to your family if you were to become disabled or pass away. When you create an estate plan with Tom, you can worry less. Butler & College offers free estate planning consultations so you will know your options and how much it will cost before you commit.
Ben Shelton, Shelton Law Firm
The legal side of what Ben Shelton does for his clients began in 2008 when he started his career as a prosecutor in the 14th Judicial Circuit. But when it comes to everything else he does for his clients, that started with his youth spent in Danbury, North Carolina, a small town in the foothills of about 100 people, a few miles from the tobacco farm where his grandfather was raised with no running water or electricity. He spent much of his childhood in fields and around tobacco smokehouses.
“Danbury didn’t have preschools,” Shelton said. “Instead, I had a caregiver who lived on a tobacco farm who kept me while my parents worked. She was like a third grandmother to me.”
There, Shelton would help with tasks that were deemed appropriate for young children—gathering and setting wooden stakes and twine, picking vegetables and berries, and even priming tobacco leaves at the end of the season, always leaving those fields with his jeans caked with the red-clay soil.
“I strive to maintain that work ethic,” he said. “You never forget your roots and how hard folks have to work to make a dollar. I try to always keep that in perspective when working for people who at times have lost their ability to make a living because of an injury or have lost a home or business that they have spent their life working towards.”
That foundation of hard work would eventually carry Shelton to the law. He entered undergrad school with his mind set on pursuing a legal career but first chose to follow in his family’s footsteps and pursue a B.A. in music. He would go on to perform professionally (“at bars at night and in church in the morning”) and teach music before enrolling in the Charleston School of Law.
“My mother and father were public music teachers and are true artists. I never broke my mama’s heart like I did when I told her I was going to law school,” he joked. “My foundation was music—it is a passion and skill set I will always carry with me. It also made for a well-rounded education, forcing me to train and practice, to think creatively, to problem solve, and to work with others. I can’t think of a better way to train a trial lawyer than learning the dedication and time it takes to train for a performance where you get one shot at reaching people.”
Shelton’s early legal career found him on the prosecutorial side of the law, but over time he found his true calling in pursuing personal injury and insurance claims for people in need. “They really run together. As a prosecutor, you’re a plaintiff for the state. Here, rather than enforcing the criminal laws of the state, I’m prosecuting a civil case on behalf of the client,” he said. “Instead of a sentence, I am seeking a monetary judgment or other relief from the court on behalf of individuals and businesses.”
It’s a shift that not only puts his lifetime of hard work and dedication to the test but allows him to channel it in a way that is literally changing lives. “Being able to help people understand their rights and give them personal attention and understanding in their time of absolute need is what drives me. You can’t put the pieces back together, but you can help them move forward,” he said. “Having a client come up and thank me years later—that sort of thing—lets me know that what I’m doing is bigger than myself.”
Shelton may not be working in those red-clay fields anymore, but ask any of his clients and they’ll tell you that the seeds of hope he plants offer a far more enriching yield.
Visit sheltonlawsc.com to learn more.
Patrick Carr
Carr Legal Group, LLC
The law can be used to defend and to attack, to preserve rights and to define where the lines of civilization are drawn. The law can also be somewhat of a circus, fueling wacky TV ads and billboards. In the hands of Patrick Carr of Carr Legal Group, the law is a valuable tool for holding the irresponsible accountable and making victims whole again.
“Our mission is to provide the finest legal representation possible within the highest ethical standards,” Carr said. “We’re not people who have fancy slogans or billboards and treat our clients like a commodity. We strive to give everyone personal attention because we’re passionate about the pursuit of civil justice. We know how difficult it can be when tragedy strikes and someone is harmed by someone else’s wrongdoing.”
A large focus of that passion for justice is aimed at those impacted by drunk drivers. Not only will Carr protect these victims with the full strength of the law, but he will work to ensure tragedy doesn’t strike again. “We have far too many drunk driving crashes in our community and far too many preventable deaths every year,” Carr said. “We’re not only keen to hold those who drive impaired responsible, but also those who may have illegally served them.”
And it’s not just drunk drivers. Carr points out that distracted drivers are actually eight times more likely to cause a crash than drunk drivers. “Typically, a drunk driver knows they’re impaired. A distracted driver will throw caution to the wind, and the results can be catastrophic.”
Carr Legal Group’s practice extends far beyond vehicular crashes, protecting those impacted by personal injuries of all kinds. One need only see the dozens of reviews from grateful clients, made whole after tragedy, to see what a difference that level of dedication can make.
It’s a legal career that started at the halls of University of South Carolina, where Carr worked as a courier for a local law firm and eventually as a Legislative Aide for a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives while still pursuing his law degree. Since then, he’s built his reputation as a relentless, accomplished protector of those impacted by wrongful injury or death.
“Helping people put their life back together, you really have to have a skilled legal advocate,” he said.
Learn more at carrlegal.com.
Kennedy & Blackshire, LLC
70 Arrow Road, Bldg. 5 and 6
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
(843) 341-5555
kennedyblackshire.com
Kennedy & Blackshire, LLC focuses their practice on family law matters, including divorce, separation, custody and visitation, child support, alimony, name changes, adoptions and related legal issues. Recognizing the emotional and financial concerns that often are involved in family law matters, the firm strives to thoroughly present legal options and develop the best personalized strategy for each case.
With more than four decades of combined legal experience, Bree Kennedy and Pam Blackshire provide skilled representation in the Family Court arena. While they are zealous advocates in the courtroom, they also recognize that, with proper handling, many times clients can reach settlements and avoid contentious litigation. Their thorough preparation and extensive family law knowledge often helps cases settle in a fair and reasonable fashion.
In addition to their role as litigators, both Kennedy and Blackshire are certified Family Court mediators. Their compassion, experience and legal knowledge help parties successfully resolve disputes, often saving legal fees and the emotional strain of the litigation process.
To schedule a confidential consultation, call (843) 341-5555.
Dale Akins
Akins Law Firm
6 Johnston Way, Unit A, 2nd Floor
Bluffton, South Carolina
(843) 757-7574
dakins@akins.law
www.akins.law
For a trial lawyer, there are few stages more grand than Federal Court and few opponents with the kind of resources that automotive giant General Motors brings to a case. And yet, for Dale Akins, part of a team that took the too-big-to-fail firm to task for negligence, the size of the stage and the enormity of the task was nothing compared against the pressure to be there for his client.
“I’ve always liked to fight for the underdog,” Akins said. The case revolved around defective seatbelts in GM vehicles that had left his client incapacitated. “We tried that case for eight weeks and got a very favorable result.”
In 33 years of practice, it was a big case. But to hear Akins talk about his career as a personal injury attorney and sole practitioner, they’re all big cases. He has been lead counsel on several high profile cases over the years.
Akins is licensed in Georgia and South Carolina and handles serious cases on both sides of the Savannah River. Most of his practice is in Federal Court.
“Every case is special and important, because every case is hopefully the only case my client will ever have,” he said. “When it works correctly, the civil justice system in our country is second to none. It can be a locomotive for social change, and it also works to improve everyone’s quality of life.”
Whether making products safer or holding the powerful accountable, it’s all part of Akins’ all-consuming passion for the law and for the people whose lives he can change by simply standing up for them. “What I really like about it is that you’re able to help people through the whole process and help them heal,” he said.
Along the way, his passion for the law has made him one of the most highly respected attorneys in the Lowcountry, with an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell, designation as a South Carolina Super Lawyer in the Plaintiff’s counsel category, and an Associate in the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates, which is an invitation-only organization whose members are required to have tried many cases to jury verdict.
When he’s not standing up for those in need, you’ll find him enjoying the Lowcountry to its fullest. An avid outdoorsman, he even named his bird dog, Boudreaux, an honorary associate of the firm—albeit one who doesn’t keep regular office hours. “I brought him into the office one time. He was just a puppy then. That was a mistake. Now, he mainly telecommutes,” Akins said with a laugh.
Dale Akins practices out of Old Town Bluffton. His wife, Sally, is also a lawyer, and she is the President of the State Bar of Georgia. The two have resided in Rose Hill for over 30 years.
If you’ve been injured or otherwise wronged, consider the Akins Law Firm.
