The Charleston School of Law Office of Student and Career Services hosted “Reaching Back as we Climb,” a Professionalism Series event.
Following the event, the alumni panel sat down for a podcast to continue the conversation about the challenges and opportunities faced by minority attorneys.
The Law School alumni panel included:
Salley practices civil litigation at Maron Marvel Bradley Anderson & Tardy LLC on Daniel Island. As a Charleston Law student, Salley served as the President of the Student Bar Association, President of the Environmental Law Society, and was a member of both the Trial Advocacy and Moot Court boards. In 2019 Salley was recognized by the South Carolina Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers and received the Arthur Gasque Howe Trial Advocacy award. He is also a member of the Charleston School of Law Forensics Club, recognizing his demonstrated leadership, professionalism, public service and academic commitment.
“The greatest aspect of Charleston School of Law was definitely the faculty and staff,” said Salley. “But ultimately, the experiences of being able to travel across the country to represent the school that I was able to take part in moot court and trial advocacy competitions is something that I really cherish.”
Hanchard Ferguson (’16) serves as general counsel for the City of Charleston Housing Authority. She competed in Moot Court, served as a student ambassador and president of Black Law Students Association (BLSA).
“One of the things that’s always made Charleston Law a remarkable school is the quality of professors,” said Ferguson. “Charleston gave me great connections and quality relationships with some amazing legal professionals that have been able to assist me.”
Burkins-Rivers (’20) is a Charleston native and an associate attorney at Strang Immigration Law. As a Charleston Law student, she served as the President of the Immigration Law Association. Prior to law school, Burkins-Rivers also worked in California for a wrongful death civil litigator, a personal injury litigator, and for an in-house litigator for an insurance company.
“I was just very much nontraditional student,” she said. “I started law school in my late 30s. We are building a legion of graduates where the community looks out for each other.”
Grant’s journey through law school was quite different. She attended three different law schools: Charlotte School of Law, the Savannah Law School (a branch of the John Marshall School of Law) and then Charleston Law. After practicing law in Alabama, Grant recently returned home to join the Charleston Law staff as the Assistant Director of Admissions and co-director for the Center of Diversity in the Legal Profession.
“One thing is the love and the environment at Charleston that is quite different,” she said. “You’re able to make connections.”
The Charleston School of Law will host a virtual Q&A with current students on Tuesday, March 18 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
The Mental Health First Aid training will be on Friday March 21 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 220.
