Burnette, McDaniel and LeFever profiled in National Law Journal
May 2, 2023
M. Malissa Burnette, Kathleen McDaniel, and Grant Burnette LeFever have been named to the “National Law Journal” list of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Trailblazers and are being highlighted in the national publication’s May issue.
The recognition comes in large part due to their roles in Planned Parenthood v the State of South Carolina, a case that resulted in the state’s six-week abortion ban being struck down before it even took effect. It was the state Supreme Court’s first ruling on the scope of the state’s constitutional right to privacy in relation to abortion since Roe v Wade.
The annual “National Law Journal” supplement spotlights attorneys who are change agents in their practice areas. The honorees are chosen because they’ve made significant marks on the practice of law and policy.
Kathy Dudley Helms, an employment law defense attorney who’s regularly gone up against attorneys from Burnette Shutt & McDaniel in cases, nominated the three.
That case led the South Carolina Supreme Court to declare the state’s abortion ban an unconstitutional violation of privacy rights. The Planned Parenthood legal team already has successfully blocked the ban in federal court, but when Roe v Wade was overturned a state legal challenge became necessary.
“In joining the Planned Parenthood legal team, these attorneys were taking on a case and a cause important to many in South Carolina,” Helms said. “It wasn’t a case necessarily that many attorneys would take because of the political ramifications. I admire their willingness to stand up for many who cannot stand up for themselves and to hold the state to the protections guaranteed in the South Carolina Constitution.”
About Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA
Located in Columbia’s historic business district, Burnette Shutt & McDaniel, PA’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 represents clients in a range of areas, including employment, environmental, and education law. They also handle employee benefits and ERISA matters, privacy and data protection issues, and government matters such as eminent domain, land use, and zoning. The attorneys’ civil rights work includes discrimination, wrongful termination, and criminal justice civil rights. 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.
