South Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly recently released its recipients of the 2024 Influential Women of Law. Three Charleston School of Law graduates – Bhumi A. Patel (’08), Dr. Barbara Wagner (’07) and Nickisha Woodward (’13) – are among the award winners.

Patel, who selected one of the Top 50 Most Influential People by Grand Strand magazine for 2024, is a partner at Burr & Forman in Myrtle Beach. Patel is also the 2024 South Carolina Women Lawyers Association president and a board member of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation (MBREDC) and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Wagner is a member of the Charleston School of Law’s founding class. She graduated magna cum laude from the Law School in 2007 where she was a member of the Charleston Law Review and the Maritime Law Bulletin.

Dr. Wagner is currently a member of Barnwell Whaley Patterson & Helms in Charleston where she practices in the areas of business law and civil litigation. Wagner has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for her work in Insurance Law and as a 2016 South Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Star as a Top Rated Personal Injury-Products Attorney. 

In 2018, Charleston Business Magazine named her to the Lowcountry Legal Elite list in the area of construction law. She also serves the legal community as a member of the Executive Committee of the Charleston County Bar Association and as Construction Chair of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association.

Dr. Wagner is remarkably accomplishments go far beyond just the practice of law. She also has a doctorate in law, doctorate in chemistry and owns 20 U.S. patents.

Woodward, a 2013 alumnus from Charleston Law, earned the Influential Women of Law honor for her dedication to growing the legal industry through service and mentoring. Currently, she is a practicing attorney and shareholder at Turner Padget in Charleston.

Known as a skilled litigator with more than a decade of experience, Woodward defends the interests of clients large and small in personal injury, construction, premises and product liability matters.

“The practice is changing,” said Woodward. “Disputes are on the rise … and in the ever-evolving legal and technological landscape, it makes for a delicate balancing act.”

She has received multiple honors from her legal practice including:

• Best Lawyers in America: “Ones to Watch”, Product Liability Litigation: Defendants, 2020-2024
• SC Lawyers Weekly, Influential Women of Law, 2024
• Super Lawyers, South Carolina Rising Star, General Litigation, 2018-2023
• South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Business Power List, 2023
• South Carolina Women in Business Award Recipient, 2023
• South Carolina Bar Leadership Academy, 2017
• Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™-AV®