Gifford and Kelley of Richardson Plowden selected to 2013 Class of the SC Bar Leadership Academy
January 23, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – January 23, 2013 – Richardson Plowden & Robinson, P.A. announced that attorneys Emily R. Gifford and Michelle Parsons Kelley were recently selected to the 2013 Class of the SC Bar Leadership Academy.
The SC Bar Leadership Academy is a highly selective program, designed for young lawyers who have been in practice from three to 10 years. The program will equip them with networking opportunities, professionalism training, community awareness, and other skills necessary to give back to the legal profession and position themselves as leaders in the community.
Gifford joined Richardson Plowden in 2005 and focuses her practice in Construction Law and Insurance Defense. She earned her Master’s in Health Administration while simultaneously completing her Juris Doctor at the University of South Carolina (USC) in 2005. She also earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the USC Honors College. In addition to her work at Richardson Plowden, Gifford is a pro bono special prosecutor for the Office of the Attorney General, assisting in the prosecution of criminal domestic violence cases. She is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Tortsource Editorial Board, where she serves as Editor-in-Chief. She is also the Chair of the TIPS Self Insurers and Risk Managers Committee, is on the TIPS Outreach to Young Lawyers Taskforce, and graduated from the TIPS Leadership Academy. She is actively involved with the Young Lawyers Division of the South Carolina Bar, and is a member of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association Construction Law Committee, and co-author of the Surety Law Chapter in the forthcoming South Carolina Bar Construction Law Deskbook. She was also named a 2012 Rising Star by South Carolina Super Lawyers.
Kelley joined Richardson Plowden in 2010 and is a member of the Richardson Plowden Litigation Team where she focuses her practice in general litigation, including appeals and commercial litigation. Kelley earned her Master’s in Public Administration from USC in 2007, while simultaneously completing her Juris Doctor from the USC School of Law, which she attended on a full academic scholarship as a Carolina Legal Scholar. Prior to that, she graduated from the USC Honors College in 2004. Kelley is active in the community, serving in numerous leadership roles. She is the Chair of the South Carolina Commission on Women, an appointed advisor for the South Carolina Federal Credit Union Board of Advisors, is Statewide Chair of the Cinderella Project, a program sponsored by the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division, and she is a pro bono special prosecutor for the Office of the Attorney General, assisting in the prosecution of criminal domestic violence cases. Kelley was selected as the Face of Y’all by USC for 2012-2013. In this role, she serves as an ambassador for all USC graduates for the past 10 years. She was also named a 2012 Rising Star by South Carolina Super Lawyers.
About Richardson Plowden
Established in 1973, Richardson Plowden Robinson, P.A., is among the 20 largest law firms in South Carolina, with more than 30 attorneys in offices in Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach. A full service law firm, Richardson Plowden has more than 25 practice areas providing legal counsel to local, state and national clients. For more information, visit www.RichardsonPlowden.com.
