Best Lawyers® to Honor SC Attorneys J. Donald Dial, Jr. & G. Dewey Oxner, Jr.

March 4, 2009

25th Anniversary Event will be held in Atlanta, April 23-25, 2009

CHARLESTON, COLUMBIA, FLORENCE, GREENVILLE, SC, & WASHINGTON, DC — The Best Lawyers in America®, the country’s original lawyer-rating directory, has announced that it will honor the accomplishments of J. Donald (Donny) Dial, Jr., and G. Dewey Oxner, Jr., both shareholders of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., during the publication’s 25th Anniversary Event in Atlanta, Georgia, in April.  This occasion will celebrate the distinguished careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in the publication since it began rating lawyers in 1983.

A certified specialist in taxation law, Dial is based in the Firm’s Columbia office.  He received his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University, J.D. from Columbia University, and B.A. from Princeton University.  He served as an original member, and as chairman of the board that certifies tax law specialists in South Carolina. Dial often represents clients in tax disputes before the tax authorities and in court and works with many businesses in all areas of tax planning.  He also helps families with sophisticated techniques such as leveraged gifts and family limited partnerships. For 17 years at the University of South Carolina School of Law, Dial served as an adjunct professor in estate taxation.  He is a Fellow of both the American College of Tax Counsel and the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

src=img/Oxner.jpgBased in the Firm’s Greenville office, G. Dewey Oxner, Jr. is a former president of the South Carolina Bar and a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference.  He is well-known nationally for his experience defending medical malpractice and products-liability cases.  A trial lawyer for more than 40 years, he has successfully tried more than 100 cases to jury verdict. Oxner is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and served as its state chairman, and also has served as state chair of the American Board of Trial Advocacy. Oxner has been honored by the Greenville County Bar Association with the highest honor that the Bar Association can bestow (Tommy Thomason Award); the University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association (Compleat Lawyer Award that recognizes high standards of professionalism and performance); the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association (Robert W. Hemphill Award), among numerous others.  Oxner earned his J.D. at the University of South Carolina, and his B.A., from Washington and Lee University. 

John B. McArthur, member of the law firm’s Management Committee, said, “We are honored that Donny Dial and Dewey Oxner’s experience and legal knowledge will be recognized in this meaningful  manner.  Both are ‘lawyer’s lawyers’ and are respected by their peers.”

The Anniversary Event, to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, April 23 – April 25, will celebrate the distinguished careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in the publication since it began rating lawyers in 1983.  It will open with a gala at the Georgia Aquarium on Thursday, April 23rd, with remarks by Carolyn Lamm, President-Elect of the American Bar Association.  On Friday, April 24th, attendees will engage in panel-led discussions about changes in the legal profession and legal education over the last 25 years. Funds raised go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

We are so pleased to honor J. Donald Dial, Jr. and G. Dewey Oxner, Jr. as two of the lawyers who have been with us from the start, says Steven Naifeh, President and founder of Best Lawyers®.  “The Atlanta event provides an extraordinary opportunity to recognize the careers of the 1,397 lawyers who have been listed in Best Lawyers from its beginning,” says Naifeh.  “They have not only contributed in an exceptional way to the legal profession but most of them have also played important civic roles in their communities. Between them, they represent more than 25 millennia of legal experience. Because their insights into the changes in the legal profession are invaluable, we have focused the panel discussions on the changes in the legal profession during their professional lives. That’s also why we have asked each of them to bring a younger partner and a client to this event, so that they can share their collective wisdom with the next generation of preeminent lawyers.”

About the Firm

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. provides business, litigation, financial legal services, and government relations services to national and international clients.  With a history dating back more than 100 years, it is one of the largest law firms in the Carolinas with more than 140 attorneys.  The Firm has offices in Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, SC, and Washington, D.C.

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. has more lawyers recognized by their peers in the 2009 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of antitrust, bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights, construction, corporate governance and compliance, corporate, medical malpractice, professional malpractice, public finance, real estate, and tax law than any other firm in South Carolina. 

For more information, visit www.hsblawfirm.com.

About Best Lawyers®

Best Lawyers®, which published its first directory in 1983, is the oldest lawyer-rating publication in the U.S.  The company compiles its listings of outstanding attorneys through exhaustive peer-review surveys.  Every year, thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers and Best Lawyers tabulates more than 2.5 million votes.  Its annual publication, The Best Lawyers in America, which continues to be the only advertisement-free referral guide to the legal profession, now includes 36,126 attorneys in 78 specialties, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Best Lawyers® now also evaluates lawyers worldwide and publishes its global lists online at www.bestlawyers.com.