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.

Senator Tom Davis

Tom Davis and his wife, Reid, have lived in Beaufort, South Carolina, since 1985. They have three daughters, Elizabeth, Grace and Claire.

Tom obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University in 1982, graduating magna cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1985, graduating with highest honors and as a member of the Order of the Coif.

Tom has practiced law in Beaufort at the law firm of Harvey & Battey, P.A., since 1985. He also served in Gov. Mark Sanford’s administration as senior policy advisor, co-chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and chief of staff from 2003 to 2007.

During his time with the governor’s administration, Tom led the State of South Carolina’s successful negotiations with the State of Georgia in regard to the two states developing collaboratively a new port on the Savannah River in Jasper County.

In November 2008, Tom was elected State Senator for South Carolina Senate District 46, which is comprised of almost all of the southern Beaufort County, a portion northern Beaufort County, and a portion of Jasper County, and he was re-elected to second and third four-year terms in 2012 and 2016.

Tom currently serves on the following Senate committees: Finance; Banking and Insurance; Labor, Commerce and Industry; Medical Affairs; Corrections and Penology; and Invitations (where he serves a chairman).

Hon. Heather R. Galvin, Esquire, Probate Court, Beaufort County. Judge Heather Galvin graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science where she was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and the Delta Zeta Sorority. She obtained her Juris Doctor from the Cleveland Marshall School of Law and is admitted to the practice of law in Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington D.C. Prior to moving to South Carolina; Ms. Galvin worked for LexisNexis as an Applications Consultant and Senior Legal Research Associate. Upon relocating to South Carolina, she served as an Assistant Solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit. In 2007, Ms. Galvin opened the Law Offices of Heather Galvin and specialized in the areas of family and probate law. As part of her practice she had the opportunity to serve as part-time Staff Attorney for the Beaufort County Probate Court; contract attorney for the Guardian ad litem programs in Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper Counties in abuse and neglect proceedings involving children; and pro-bono Special Prosecutor in Beaufort County for animal cruelty cases. In October of 2012, she was sworn in as full-time Associate Probate Judge for Beaufort County. In her spare time she enjoys jogging, reading, tennis and spending time with her husband and their cats.

The Honorable James E. Lockemy
Court of Appeals

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 Kenneth E. Fulp, Jr., Probate Judge

Judge Kenneth E. Fulp, Jr., received his Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Emory & Henry College in 1973 and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia in 1977. Following eight years of private law practice in Norfolk, Virginia, he worked for over four years in the Washington, D.C. area, first as Counsel to the U. S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism, and then as Congressional Relations Counsel for the United States Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Justice. In 1988, he was presented The Distinguished Service Award by the Director of the United States Marshals Service.
In 1990, he moved to Beaufort, South Carolina, where he engaged in the private law practice from 1991 until his appointment as Associate Probate Judge for Beaufort County, assuming that position in January 1999 and serving as such until his appointment as Probate Judge in July 2012.
Judge Fulp was elected as Probate Judge for Beaufort County in November 2014. He currently serves on the Probate Court Judges Advisory Committee.
Judge Fulp is a judicial member of the South Carolina Bar and the Virginia State Bar. He currently serves as President of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges, and is a member of the National College of Probate Judges.
He is married to Janice Fulp; they have two children and five grandchildren. He is a long-time member of the Parish Church of St. Helena in Beaufort.

Stephen Spitz, Esquire
Spitz & Neville, LLC
151 Meeting Street, Suite 350
Charleston, SC 29401
843-414-5085
sas@spitzandneville.com

Stephen A. Spitz has been a part of the South Carolina business and legal communities for over 40 years. During this time, he has developed strong relationships built on trust with students, business owners, attorneys, insurance professionals, and other community leaders. He has represented individuals, as well as some of the largest businesses in South Carolina, including the State of South Carolina, both in trial court, and on the appellate level.
Steve focuses his practice in real estate, property, and equity, and is an experienced appellate advocate in South Carolina. He is certified as a mediator in both the state and federal system in South Carolina, where he assists parties in resolving disputes.
Steve is a former professor of law at the University of South Carolina Law School, where he taught for 27 years, and the Charleston School of Law, where he taught for 10 years. Steve chaired Gov. Mark Sanford’s and Gov. Richard Riley’s committees on water issues in South Carolina and was appointed special counsel for the Governor’s Interstate Water Negotiating Team with the State of Georgia. He also received Gov. Riley’s Award of Appreciation for Outstanding Service to the State of South Carolina and was honored with the J. Lee McDonald Distinguished Service Award from the Palmetto Land Title Association in 1996.
Steve is a regular speaker at various South Carolina Bar Continuing Legal Education Seminars on the topics of real estate litigation, property law, and equity, including the South Carolina Masters In Equity Bench Bar Seminar held each fall in Columbia, South Carolina. Steve is the primary author of the only casebook on real estate litigation issues in South Carolina.
Spitz does have one or two odd licenses along with his S.C. bar license and his Nebraska bar license (now inactive). He has received a “fortune telling license” in Beaufort County, S.C., pursuant to S.C. Code 40-41-310 (although fortune tellers in S.C. must have a license, fortunately for the entire world, he has never exercised that license and has never told even a single fortune). He also claims that he is an “Admiral” in the “Great Navy of the State of Nebraska” (admittedly this is just a little odd because Nebraska is a very landlocked state). Nonetheless, a plaque proudly proclaims that he is in charge of tadpoles and goldfish in the swell State of Nebraska signed by the then Governor of the State of Nebraska.
Steve graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska College of Law and did his undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business.

The Honorable Shiva Hodges, Federal Judge

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.