A Conversation with Tom Runge, Shareholder in the Columbia law firm Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims

MidlandsBiz:
What is your educational and professional background?

Tom Runge:
I earned my Bachelor’s of Science from Clemson University in 1983 and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of South Carolina (USC) Darla Moore School of Business in 1985. After five years as a bank loan officer in commercial lending, I earned my Juris Doctor from the USC School of Law in 1992. I am a shareholder in the Columbia law firm Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims, and a member of the firm’s Business, Real Estate and Finance Practice Group. My practice is focused on real estate development, including residential development and commercial retail facilities. I am also actively involved in certain charitable and non-profit organizations, which complements my professional and personal life.

MidlandsBiz:
Andrew Carnegie is the most well-know philanthropist of the 20th century. Who are the modern philanthropists?

Tom Runge:
Perhaps the most notable modern philanthropists are Bill and Melinda Gates. Their philanthropic efforts are focused on improving health, improving high school education in the United States and reducing extreme poverty in the developing world. The power they have to enact change through their largesse and leadership is tremendous. Equally important, however, is the behavior they are modeling for the rest of us, which is that we should identify areas of need in our own communities and address them. You don’t have to be famous nor do you have to be a billionaire to be an effective philanthropist. You do have to get off the sidelines and get involved. Ellis Lawhorne has made a commitment to be actively philanthropic as a firm and as individuals, committing leadership, volunteer hours and dollars to unmet needs in the Midlands.

MidlandsBiz:
What is Ellis Lawhorne’s motivation?

Tom Runge:
The South Carolina Bar encourages all attorneys to perform pro bono work for those who need legal services but cannot afford them. As a firm, we see philanthropy as a way to invest in our community and also in each other. It’s very easy to get caught up in your professional life, particularly for attorneys where 50 plus hour workweeks are not uncommon. At Ellis Lawhorne, we have found that the quality of life for our attorneys and our staff is much greater when we look beyond being an exceptional law firm and strive to become better citizens by helping those in needs. There’s a quote we believe is descriptive of our efforts:

We must not only give what we have, we must also give what we are.

So we’ve made it a practice not just to make financial gifts to charities, but to also donate our talents and time as leaders, roll-up-the-sleeves volunteers and as pro bono attorneys.

MidlandsBiz:
What are some of the causes Ellis Lawhorne supports?

Tom Runge:
As a firm, we support three main charities: HomeWorks of America, which repairs homes of financially and physically disadvantaged elderly in our community; the Midlands Homeless Alliance; and the Trinity Housing Authority, which operates St. Lawrence Place, a transitional housing facility for homeless families. It’s no coincidence that all three are focused on either placing or keeping people in homes. Shelter is such a basic human need; it’s a tragedy that so many in our community find themselves without a home or threatened with losing their home for various reasons. Getting and keeping people in stable homes is a top priority for our firm.

Our support for these organizations is not simply financial. It’s also leadership and man-hours. I serve as Chairman of the Board of the Trinity Housing Corporation. We are currently involved in a substantial rehabilitation of St. Lawrence Place, updating and refurbishing 30 living units. There’s been a tremendous amount of work involved securing grants and loans and hiring and overseeing contractors. My background in real estate law has helped the process. We also provide our residents with basic life skills such as budgeting, parenting and assisting in job searches.  My former life in banking helps here, too, at the Board level and working with residents.

Ellis Lawhorne is also very hands-on with HomeWorks. Another of our attorneys, Cliff Moore, is Chair of the HomeWorks Board of Directors. He is always front and center—raising money, recruiting volunteers, and organizing building blitzes. Cliff has done a great job recruiting Ellis Lawhorne attorneys to the HomeWorks cause. We’ve provided legal assistance, helped find a warehouse for donated tools and supplies, and sent teams of attorneys and staff members to participate in numerous building blitzes repairing homes and providing meals for volunteer workers. In 2008, the South Carolina Bar recognized Ellis Lawhorne as the Pro Bono Firm of the Year for our work on behalf of HomeWorks. This was the second time in the firm’s 29-year history we received this honor.

MidlandsBiz:
Philanthropy benefits the recipients. How does it benefit the givers?

Tom Runge:
There are numerous benefits. At Ellis Lawhorne, our community involvement has fostered a greater sense of team spirit among our attorneys and staff because it is something we all believe in and work on together after hours. It also fills people with a sense of pride to be associated with a law firm that places a priority on helping others. There’s no doubt the feel good spirit that comes from repairing the home of an elderly person or from helping a single mother find a home of her own spills over into the workplace.

The other amazing thing we’ve seen at Ellis Lawhorne is that our people don’t stop with the official charities. All of our attorneys and many of our staff are actively engaged in more than 75 nonprofit organizations as board members, volunteers, youth coaches, Sunday school teachers, and other positions. These activities are vital to the health of the Midlands. Each act of volunteerism makes the Midlands a better place to live and work and enriches the lives of people in need. It’s also personally fulfilling to our attorneys and staff.

MidlandsBiz:
With South Carolina still struggling with a challenging economy, is philanthropy in danger of being overlooked?

Tom Runge:
That’s one of the miracles of philanthropy. Community involvement seems to strengthen when the need is greatest. You’ve heard the saying, Every little bit helps. That’s the mantra of philanthropy. You don’t have to be Bill and Melinda Gates to make a difference. Any gift of time or money is welcomed and helps the cause.

MidlandsBiz:
Any advice to other would-be philanthropists?

Tom Runge:
Get involved and make a difference.