Last-Minute Ethics & SAMH CLE
IF YOU ARE REGISTERING AFTER 5 PM ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15TH, YOUR NAME WILL NOT BE ON THE SIGN-IN SHEET.  PLEASE FILL YOURSELF IN WHEN YOU ARRIVE. PLEASE REVIEW ALL INFORMATION BELOW CAREFULLY.
Date:	Friday, February 16, 2024
Time:	10:00 am - 1:30 pm
Cost:	FREE
CLE Credit:	Course Name:  CLE Essentials: Ethics & SAMH CLE Course No.:  242726 Credit:  3 hours including 2 hours Ethics (LEPR) and 1 hour SAMH Credit
Location:	Joseph F. Rice School of Law, Columbia, SC Room 103:  Karen J. Williams Courtroom
Parking:	FREE PARKING - WHILE IT LASTS! PLEASE ALLOW YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME TO FIND PARKING AND ARRIVE ON TIME! Two Locations: Pendleton Street Garage, 1501 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC - Park at bagged meters - first come basis 1600 Gervais Street Parking Lot - approximately 15 spaces marked RESERVED - first come basis   STREET PARKING:  NOT RECOMMENDED - All street parking around the Law School is metered. The City enforces parking meters Monday – Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm.   METER FEEDING WARNING:  Our sessions will not be convenient for feeding the meter.  Feeding the meter is illegal.  The phone app will not allow you to feed the meter.  City employees chalk tires and issue tickets for meter-feeding.  Download the Passport App and set up your account and payment method https://www.passportparking.com/ https://parking.columbiasc.gov/enforcement/ The maximum time is shown by the color of the meter Blue meters 5 to 10 hours . Green Meters 2 hours . Silver Meters 1 hour . Red Meters 30 Minutes
Who Can Attend:	THIS SEMINAR IS NOT OPEN TO THE BAR AT LARGE.  To attend, you must meet one of the following qualifying classifications: Public Defender - Full-Time or Contract Backlog Contract Attorney SCCID Contract Attorney DSS Attorney Childrens Law Center Attorney Solicitor AG Other Public Sector Attorney If you register as OTHER, and it is not obvious from your email address which agency you work for, please notify LBrown@sccid.sc.gov by email what qualifying category you fall into.

This seminar is being offered as a live in-person event only.  No Web option.

TO REGISTER, CLICK THE REGISTRATION BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.

NOTE:  The Registration Form will ask you to create a password for the event.  If you get the following message - This email address has already registered for this site - Please log in to your SCCID account to continue registering. That message indicates that you have an existing SCCID site account and need to log in to that account to complete the registration.  If you get that message and do not remember your account information, or if you have any other problems with registration, please contact LBrown@sccid.sc.gov or SHampton@sccid.sc.gov for assistance.

CLE Credit:  

2 Hours LEPR (Ethics)

1 Hour SAMH (Substance Abuse/Mental Health)

CLE Course No.:  

Agenda:    For Speaker Materials, click links under speaker name.

Speaker Information:

SUSAN BARBER HACKETT

Susan Barber Hackett is the Chief Staff Attorney for the Court of Appeals.  Previously, she was an Appellate Defender with the Office of Appellate Defense.  She has argued over one hundred cases before the South Carolina appellate courts.  Prior to joining Appellate Defense, Ms. Hackett worked at the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.  She also served as the Executive Director of the Center of Capital Litigation, a non-profit dedicated to the representation of individuals charged with capital crimes.  While an associate at Blume, Webyle & Norris, LLC, she represented criminal defendants in state and federal courts.  Upon graduating from law school, Ms. Hackett served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Deadra L. Jefferson in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.  Ms. Hackett also taught legal writing at the University of South Carolina School of Law as an adjunct professor for two years.  Ms. Hackett is an active member of the South Carolina Bar, serving on the Professional Responsibility Committee, the Law Related Education Committee, the Practice and Procedure Committee, and the Trial and Appellate Advocacy Section.  Ms. Hackett also serves a member of the Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness.

JOHN NICHOLS, ESQ.

John Nichols received a BS in mathematics from Francis Marion College in 1978 and a JD from the USC School of Law in 1985. He first worked with Rogers & Koon focusing primarily on property litigation. In 1986, the SC Court of Appeals hired John as a staff attorney, and he became chief staff counsel in 1993. John also served at times as a law clerk for Chief Judge Alex M. Sanders, Jr., Judge Randall T. Bell, and Acting Judge C. Bruce Littlejohn. From 1996 until 2000, John worked with Suggs & Kelly, primarily on pharmaceutical mass tort litigation around the country. In 2000, John and Marti Bluestein formed Bluestein & Nichols which is now Bluestein Thompson & Sullivan. John’s primary focus was on appellate practice, general tort litigation and representing attorneys before the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. In 2017, the Supreme Court of SC appointed John to serve as Disciplinary Counsel, and he served in that capacity from January 2018 until his retirement in January 2023.

John is admitted to practice in South Carolina’s state and federal courts as well as the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, the Eleventh and the Federal Circuits, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

From 2003 to 2018, John served on the SC Board of Law Examiners by Supreme Court appointment. In 2012 Governor Nikki Haley appointed John to the SC Commission on Indigent Defense and was reappointed by Governor Henry McMaster.  From 2013 to 2017 John served as special counsel to the SC House Ethics Committee and the SC Senate Ethics Committee.

John has spoken at seminars for a number of groups, including the SC Bar, the SC Judicial Branch, SCAJ/SCTLA, the SCIWA, the SCDTAA, the SC Public Defenders Association, and the SC Prosecution Commission. He served on the Education Committee for the ABA’s Council of Appellate Staff Attorneys and assisted the SC Judicial Branch in developing orientation seminars for new members of the SC Appellate Courts, Circuit Court and Family Court as well as for attorneys employed by the Judicial Branch.

John has also authored, co-authored, or edited several books and other publications for Thomson Reuters (West) or the South Carolina Bar. From 1995 through 2000, John served as editor of “What’s New,” the case summaries prepared by law professors for the South Carolina Lawyer magazine (SC Bar). He also served on the South Carolina Lawyer magazine’s Editorial Board, serving as Editor-in-Chief from 2004 through 2006. John also served as editor of “The Bulletin,” the magazine for the SCAJ.

John serves on USC’s “B-Ball - Coaches versus Cancer” committee and is an officer with the Columbia USC Tip-Off Club. He enjoys painting, playing guitar, traveling and hiking with his wife, Michelle, and spending time with their grandson, Max.

BETH PADGETT

Director of Lawyers Helping Lawyers, SC Bar

Beth Padgett is the Director of Lawyers Helping Lawyers at the SC Bar.  Prior to being named Director in August of 2022, she had served as Co-Director and Assistant Director since coming to LHL in December of 2010.  Beth received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Education from the University of South Carolina, and a Master of Arts in Human Behavior and Conflict Management from Columbia College.  She has completed numerous graduate hours in counseling and addiction studies at USC and holds a certification in drug and alcohol counseling through the South Carolina Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors.  She recently completed certification as a Grief Specialist through the University of Wisconsin at Madison Continuing Education Program. 

Mindfulness and other contemplative practices have been the foundation of her life and work for over twenty years.  She completed the Mindfulness for Professionals Program at Duke Integrative Medicine Center in 2011, Phase I of Koru Mindfulness Teacher Certification, a mindfulness program for emerging adults developed at Duke University; a 200-hour yoga teacher training course in 2014, teacher training in Y12SR (Yoga for 12-Step Recovery) in 2015, and numerous continuing education hours in yoga, including laughter yoga and yoga for grief recovery, and mindfulness, including Mindfulness Based Addiction Recovery.