Laney sworn in as South Carolina Bar President
May 19, 2020
Columbia attorney Roy F. Laney took office as president of the South Carolina Bar on May 14.
A founding member of Riley, Pope & Laney, LLC, in Columbia, Laney has more than two decades of experience in information technology, utility fuel and transportation transaction work and commercial litigation. South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Beatty swore Laney in during a virtual annual meeting of Bar members.
“Serving my community and giving back to the profession have always been important throughout my career as an attorney, and I am honored to lead this outstanding organization,” Laney said. “In these times of uncertainty and economic hardship, the South Carolina Bar will continue to meet the challenge of helping the legal profession, our communities and state successfully navigate work and life. As lawyers, we have been specially trained to help others in need and will rely on the foundation of our oath—fairness, integrity, civility and assisting the defenseless—to support our communities and promote access to justice for all South Carolinians.”
Laney has served as chairman of the SC Bar Lawyers Helping Lawyers Commission, treasurer and secretary of the Bar, a member of the Diversity Task Force, and two terms as chairman of the Professional Responsibility Committee. He is a past president of the Richland County Bar Association and was a Riley Institute Diversity Fellow.
In the Midlands community, Laney served as district chairman of the Boy Scouts of America, an assistant scout master and a youth baseball and lacrosse coach. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee University. Laney and his wife Caroline have three children.
Other officers inducted for 2020-2021 are Mary E. Sharp of Beaufort, president elect; Hagood Tighe of Columbia, treasurer; Rusty Infinger of Greenville, secretary; Christopher Koon of Columbia, chair of the House of Delegates and Beverly Carroll of Rock Hill, immediate past president.
The South Carolina Bar is a statewide organization dedicated to improving the legal profession, the law and the administration of justice for all South Carolinians. It serves more than 17,000 lawyer members and provides resources to educators and citizens of the Palmetto State. Learn more at www.scbar.org.
