Burnette again listed among the 50 Most Influential

January 22, 2025

Malissa Burnette, a founding partner at Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, is being honored again in Columbia Business Monthly’s 50 Most Influential list of the Midlands.

Long a leader in civil rights litigation, Burnette is a key part of the legal team battling to protect reproductive rights in South Carolina. She, along with firm co-founder Kathleen McDaniel and attorney Grant Burnette LeFever, are part of the legal team that’s represented Planned Parenthood in several cases over the past six years.

The annual 50 Most Influential list recognizes individuals who made an impact in 2024 in the business, government, education, legal, economic development, and non-profit sectors.

Burnette represents clients in a full range of civil rights and employment cases, including discrimination, wrongful termination, equal pay, and more. She is a South Carolina Supreme Court-certified specialist in employment and labor law and a certified federal mediator.

This is the third time she’s been honored on the Top 50 list. She also was included last year, and she and firm co-founder Nekki Shutt previously were recognized for their work on the legal team that paved the way for marriage equality in South Carolina.

 

About Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA

Located in Columbia’s historic Vista district, Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA is a full-service civil rights law firm handling employment discrimination, Title IX student/education discrimination, election law, housing discrimination, federal lawsuits involving allegations such as excessive force, and family law. The firm’s attorneys are licensed to practice in all South Carolina courts and at all levels of federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. The firm also represents clients in employee benefits and ERISA matters and government matters such as eminent domain, land use, and zoning. Additionally, the firm represents LGBTQ+ clients in a range of issues, including family law and name and gender-marker changes. Learn more at burnetteshutt.law.