Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd Elects Three New Shareholders

January 14, 2010

Greenville and Florence lawyers named

CHARLESTON, COLUMBIA, FLORENCE, GREENVILLE, MYRTLE BEACH, SC, & WASHINGTON, DC – January 14, 2010 –  Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., is pleased to announce that lawyers Joshua L. (Josh) Howard of the Firm’s Greenville office, and Charles J. (Jay) Hupfer, Jr., and J. Christopher (Chris) Riddle, both of the Firm’s Florence office, were elected Shareholders, effective January 1, 2010.

Joshua L. (Josh) Howard
Shareholder
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.
75 Beattie Place, 11th Floor (29601)
Post Office Box 2048 (29602)
Greenville, South Carolina
E-mail: [email protected]
Direct Phone: 864.240.3202

A litigator, Joshua L. (Josh) Howard focuses on resolving business disputes.  The new Shareholder represents banks, insurance companies, manufacturers and suppliers in federal and state courts throughout South Carolina, as well as arbitration and mediation.  Howard has extensive experience handling business and commercial disputes involving competitors, suppliers, shareholders and employees; bank litigation; product liability matters for manufacturers, importers and distributors; general liability; and insurance coverage and bad faith.

A member of the South Carolina Bar, the Greenville Bar Association, and The Defense Research Institute, Inc., the Greenville, SC native also serves on the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association.  He is admitted to practice in South Carolina, before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Prior to joining the Firm in 2003, Howard was a law clerk to The Honorable Henry M. Herlong, Jr., United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina.

A 2002 magna cum laude graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Howard was a member of the Order of Coif; Order of the Wig and Robe; and Associate Student Works Editor, South Carolina Law Review. He graduated with a B.S. from Clemson University in 1998.

Charles J. (Jay) Hupfer, Jr.
Shareholder
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.
1831 West Evans Street, Suite 315 (29501)
Post Office Box 6617 (29502)
Florence, South Carolina
E-mail:  [email protected]
Direct Phone:  843.673.5315

Based in the Firm’s Florence office, Charles J. (Jay) Hupfer, Jr., is a trial attorney with a wide range of experience. The new Shareholder handles products liability and insurance-coverage issues, personal injury claims and professional liability cases.  He represents clients in all phases of litigation, including jury and bench trials, arbitrations, mediations and appeals in both state and federal courts.

A native of Hartsville, South Carolina, Hupfer is active in the South Carolina Bar Association and is a committee member of the Torts and Insurance Section. He presented at the 2008 Bar Convention on the emerging importance of electronic discovery. Also, he is a member of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association, South Carolina Bar, Florence County Bar Association, and The Defense Research Institute, Inc.

Hupfer is a graduate of Leadership Florence and is on the boards of the Florence chapter of Rebuilding Together and the Florence County Museum. He earned his J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1999, and his B.A., from Wofford College in 1996. 

J. Christopher (Chris) Riddle
Shareholder
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.
1831 West Evans Street, Suite 315 (29501)
Post Office Box 6617 (29502)
Florence, South Carolina
E-mail:  [email protected]
Direct Phone:  843.673.5309

The third new Shareholder, also based in the Florence office, is business attorney J. Christopher (Chris) Riddle. He focuses on business formation, corporate transactions and commercial real estate law. Riddle has guided many types of business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate and real estate financings, and business planning.

Riddle represents clients in real estate acquisitions and development activities throughout the Carolinas.  His work also includes high-tech and industrial development. He recently helped a publicly traded company acquire a production facility in North Carolina and a research site in South Carolina.

Riddle also regularly represents businesses in developing corporate governance strategies and
business-succession plans as well as in resolving disputes over ownership, control and management.

Riddle is admitted to practice in South Carolina and North Carolina.  He is a member of the South Carolina Bar (former Council Member of Corporations, Banking and Securities Law Section), the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Florence County Bar Association, and the Mecklenburg County Bar Association.  He serves on the board of the Greater Florence Habitat for Humanity.

He received his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2001.  While at Wake Forest, Riddle was awarded membership in the Order of Barristers.  Riddle graduated cum laude from Furman University in 1998 with a B.A. degree in History and Political Science.  At Furman, Riddle received the Alfred S. Reid Memorial Award for outstanding leadership, scholarship and service.

Before joining Haynsworth Sinker Boyd in 2004, Riddle practiced in Charlotte, North Carolina, concentrating on corporate finance, securities, shareholder litigation and commercial real estate. 

About Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. provides business, litigation and financial legal services, and governmental relations to national and international clients.  With a history dating back to 1887, it is one of the largest law firms in the Carolinas with more than 135 attorneys.  The Firm has offices in Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach SC, and Washington, DC.  For more information, visit www.hsblawfirm.com.