Speaker Biographies

Our Distinguished Speakers for Super CLE 2021

The CLEs will be held at the Hilton Head Country Club, Hilton Head Plantation, 70 Skull Creek Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC. Please allow a few extra minutes for the security gate pass. Please tell security you are going to the country club for the Hilton Head Bar meeting.

The Honorable Costa Pleicones, former Chief Justice, South Carolina Supreme Court

Justice Pleicones is special counsel to Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd in Columbia. He previously served as Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. He is a Certified Circuit Court Arbitrator and Mediator. Justice Pleicones received his J.D. from the University of South Carolina Law School in 1968 and his A.B. from Wofford College in 1965.

Upon graduation from law school, he began a 30 year active duty and reserve service military career in the U.S. Army, serving as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corp for four years and as a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve for 26 years. He also served as the Commander of the 12th Legal Services Organization and was the Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer for South Carolina, First U.S. Army.

Following his active duty service, Justice Pleicones practiced as a public defender in Richland County. He entered private practice in 1975 and served as a part time municipal judge for the City of Columbia and as County Attorney for Richland County. In 1991, Justice Pleicones was elected Resident Circuit Court Judge for the Fifth Judicial Circuit and was then elected as an Associate Judge of the South Carolina Supreme Court in 2000. He was elected Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court on May 27, 2015 and served until December 2016.

Joey R. Floyd, Esquire

Joey R. Floyd, Esquire is from a small town in Clarendon County - Turbeville, South Carolina (population 766, according to the internet). Joey attended The Citadel, where he received a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering in 1997. After graduation, he began working in Augusta, Georgia, as a Consulting Engineer with the engineering firm of Cranston Robertson & Whitehurst. In this position, he was able to participate in designing various public and private construction projects, while also earning his Engineer-in-Training Certification.

After working one year as a consulting engineer, he pursued his law degree at the University of South Carolina. During law school, he worked at Bruner Powell Wall & Mullins, LLC as a law clerk. After graduating law school in 2001, he joined the firm as an Associate and later became a Member of the firm. He has been with Bruner Powell for 22 years (two years as a law clerk and 20 years as an attorney).

He has practiced almost exclusively in the area of litigation, having represented clients in State Court, Federal Court, the LLR, Bankruptcy Court and the United States Court of Federal Claims. His practice with Bruner Powell includes construction litigation, government contracts, general business litigation, professional malpractice defense, debt collection and creditor’s rights. His client listing includes property owners, governmental entities, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment suppliers, sureties, financing companies, attorneys, real estate appraisers, insurance brokers, professional engineers and many other general business clients.

In addition to being a licensed attorney, he is a licensed soccer coach and a barbecue judge.

The Honorable James E. Lockemy
Court of Appeals, retired

Chief Judge James E. Lockemy was born in Dillon, SC where he presently resides. After graduating from Dillon High School, he attended The Citadel leaving in his second year after deciding to get married. Briefly, he attended Coastal Carolina and then returned to Dillon and worked as a bagboy at a local supermarket and delivered morning newspapers while achieving his bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He then attended law school at the University of South Carolina. After graduating from law school and passing the Bar, Chief Judge Lockemy entered the United States Army acquiring the rank of Captain while assigned to the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
After completing his three year tour of duty, he joined the South Carolina Army National Guard and also accepted a position as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond. While in Washington, D.C., he served as a legal counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Strom Thurmond presented him for admission to the United States Supreme Court. During his 43 years of military service, Chief Judge Lockemy was the recipient of seventeen awards, including The Legion of Merit. He was activated from the National Guard and served a tour of duty in war-torn Kosovo. He retired from active service as a full Colonel. He then entered the South Military Department where he retired as a Major General.
In 1982, he was elected to the House of Representatives where he served for seven years. In 1980, Judge Lockemy began coaching youth baseball and founded the Rangers, a team he coached for 35 years. He has led the Dillon All-Star baseball team to the state tournament on two occasions, finishing as first runner up in 1996. In 1989, he was chosen as Dillon County Citizen of the Year and the Dillon County Veteran of the Year in 1999. Active in Community Theater, Chief Judge Lockemy received the Irving Award for Best Actor by the Florence Little Theatre for his role as John Quincy Adams in The Amistad Case. Other roles include Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men, Oscar in The Odd Couple and various characters in many British comedies.
He was elected as a Circuit Judge in 1989 where he served for eighteen years. Chief Judge Lockemy was then elected as a Judge for the South Carolina Court of Appeals and elected Chief Judge in 2016 where he continues to serve. In the South Carolina Judiciary, he served as President of the Circuit Judges’ Association.
In 1995, he was chosen as a delegate from his state for the National Conference of State Trial Judges of the Judicial Division of the ABA. He later was elected to serve on the Conference’s Executive Board. Upon his election to the Court of Appeals, Chief Judge Lockemy moved to the Appellate Judges’ Conference. He was elected Chair of that Conference in 2018. He now serves as Chair of the Appellate Judges’ Education Institute (AJEI).
He is an active Kiwanian having served as the local president and lieutenant governor. Chief Judge Lockemy is completing his third year as an Adjunct Professor in Legal History at the University of South Carolina Law School. In 2012, Judge Lockemy received his Master's Degree in History from The Citadel and currently is working to complete his PH. D. in History from the University of South Carolina. Judge Lockemy has two sons, Jamie and Will, and eleven grandchildren.

Kathleen Barnes, Esquire

Kathleen is the owner of Barnes Law Firm, LLC, in Hampton, South Carolina. Her practice focuses on appellate work and trial consulting. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication. She earned her J.D. from the Charleston School of Law. She is admitted to practice in South Carolina and Georgia. From 2010-2012, Kathleen clerked for Justice John Few while he served as the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. Kathleen started the Barnes Law Firm in 2014.
Kathleen has written briefs and argued before the South Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
She previously served on the South Carolina Bar Torts & Insurance Practice Section Council and is in the 2020 Leadership Salkehatchie class. Kathleen was chosen as an Appellate Rising Star by South Carolina Super Lawyers for 2018-2019 and received the 2020 South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law award.

The Honorable Jacqueline D. Belton, Associate Probate Judge, Richland County

Judge Belton has served with Richland County Probate Court since 1999, with the majority of the cases she usually hears as guardianship and conservatorship. She also hears estate and commitment cases, and is currently the primary judge for the Richland County Mental Health Court. Judge Belton has been married to attorney David Belton for 34 years and has three adult children.

Before coming to the Probate Court, Judge Belton was staff counsel at the Office of General Counsel, South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH). Her areas of practice there were primarily in employment law, probate law and administrative law. Judge Belton also served as a Clinical Instructor for the USC School of Medicine, leading a seminar covering landmark legal cases in the area of mental health law for fellows in the Medical School's Forensic Psychiatry Program. Prior to her employment with SCDMH, Judge Belton was an Assistant Clinical Professor at USC School of Law and a legal services attorney.

Judge Belton and her husband David were honored as the SC Bar Young Lawyers of the Year in 1991, the only husband and wife to have jointly received this honor. Se is a past member, board chair and Volunteer of the Year of Mental Health America in Mid-Carolina, and a past member of the board of Mental Health America of South Carolina.

Judge Belton has made numerous CLE and Bridge the Gap presentations, has presented several times at the School for New Probate Judges, and was a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College from 2005-2008. She has taught several times a year in and advanced course at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy entitled "Law Enforcement Awareness for the Mentally Ill".

Judge Belton is a member of the S.C. Association of Probate Judges (previous co-chair of Mental Health Committee), the National College of Probate Judges, and the SC Bar's Elder Law Committee. She was a member of the SC Bar Article 5 task force and worked with other judges and attorney on revisions to that.

Judge Belton is from a military family and proudly describes herself as a "military brat". She graduated from Wurzburg American High School in Wurzburg, Germany and received her A.B. in Sociology from Duke University and her J.D. from Antioch School of Law in Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Shiva Hodges, Federal Judge

Judge Shiva V. Hodges was appointed to the bench of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina as a Magistrate Judge in 2010, where she has presided over bench and jury trials while managing employment discrimination and other civil cases, social security appeals, habeaus corpus petitions and prisoner civil rights actions. Additionally, Judge Hodges' criminal duties include initial appearances, arraignments, detention/bond hearings, criminal complaints, search warrants and grand jury matters. In addition to her formal role as a Magistrate Judge, she routinely handles mediations at the request of District Judges and federal practitioners.

Before her appointment, Judge Hodges served as a career law clerk for six years to then Chief District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. Prior to entering public service, she was a litigator at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP, handling employment disputes, general civil disputes, and bankruptcy matters, practicing in the federal and state courts of South and North Carolina.

Judge Hodges obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of South Carolina's Honors College, a Juris Doctor from the USC School of Law and a Master in International Business Studies (Italian Track) from the Darla Moore School of Business.

Judge Hodges taught Advanced Legal Writing at the USC School of Law from 2013-2016 and is active in legal education and mentoring programs for lawyers and students.

Michael Virzi, Esquire

Michael Virzi teaches courses in Professional Responsibility and Legal Writing at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he has also taught Fundamentals of Law Practice and Professionalism and Advanced Legal Writing. He has a solo practice in Columbia, which focuses on lawyer ethics, discipline, and malpractice. Michael is a former Assistant Disciplinary Counsel for the South Carolina Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, prior to which he practiced primarily in the area of business litigation. He serves on the South Carolina Bar’s Professional Responsibility (Chair 2018-2020) and Ethics Advisory Committees (Chair 2007-2010). Michael is a frequent CLE speaker and law school guest lecturer on the topics of ethics, malpractice, and lawyer discipline and is a member of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the South Carolina Association of Ethics Counsel, and Phi Delta Phi. He graduated cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 2000.

Samuel Bauer, Esquire

Samuel Bauer. Sam is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, a former President of the Beaufort County Bar Association and Former President of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is a regular speaker at the South Carolina Summary Court Judges School on topics including Evidential Alcohol Analysis and Search Warrants. He has served as a Public Defender, a Municipal Prosecutor, and on one unfortunate occasion as a Municipal Court Judge. Sam has been an Island Resident since his grade school years at Sea Pines Academy, and is the Father of Izzy Bauer (13), who already says she wants to be lawyer, but not one like her dad.

The Honorable D. Garrison Hill, Court of Appeals

Judge D. Garrison "Gary" Hill was born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1964. His late father, Leo H. Hill, was former president of the South Carolina Bar; his mother Dr. Grace L. Hill, a retired educator and school psychologist. He has a sister, Lillian H. Pinto, and a brother, L. Howard Hill, Jr.
Judge Hill received a B.A. degree magna cum laude from Wofford College in 1986, and his juris doctor from USC Law School in 1989, where he was a member of the South Carolina Law Review.
After graduation from law school, he served as law clerk to Judge Billy Wilkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. From 1990 to 2000, he was a member of Hill, Wyatt & Bannister, a general civil and criminal practice law firm in Greenville. In 2000, he and his father started Hill & Hill, LLC, which was listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Pre-Eminent Lawyers. The firm primarily handled business litigation, government law, and public utility law including the representation of numerous special purpose districts throughout the state.
From 2004 to 2017, he served as a resident Circuit Judge for the Thirteenth Circuit. On February 1, 2017, he was elected to the Court of Appeals.
Judge Hill served in the House of Delegates of the South Carolina Bar and as president of the Government Law Section. He is also the former editor-in-chief of the South Carolina Lawyer and the author of several legal articles. He and his father published Doing the Public's Business, a legal guide designed to assist lay members who serve on the boards of public bodies.
While in private practice, he served on the boards of the Greenville Literacy Association, Greenville Mental Health Association, YMCA Camp Greenville, and as chairman of the City of Greenville Board of Zoning Appeals.
Judge Hill has three children and is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Thank you to all of our distinguished faculty for their time and efforts to educate our members.

CLEs are free to all members of the Hilton Head Bar Association. To join the Hilton Head Bar, please mail $100.00 to the attention of treasurer Tyler Melnick at Finger, Melnick & Brooks, 35 Hospital Center Commons, Suite 200, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926.

To reserve your spot in our CLES, or if you are interested in speaking to our membership, please contact Margaret S. Day, Vice President, at Law Office of Margaret S. Day, LLC, P.O. Box 763, Bluffton, SC 29910 or (843) 836-3714.