Retired Chief Justice David Harwell Joins Bell Legal Group as Partner
March 4, 2010
GEORGETOWN, SC – February 22, 2010 – J. Edward Bell, founding partner of the Bell Legal Group, announced today that The Honorable David Walker Harwell, retired Chief Justice of The Supreme Court of South Carolina, has joined Bell Legal Group as a senior partner in its Georgetown office.
Justice Harwell is a legendary figure and a close friend of more than 35 years, so I’m especially proud he has chosen this firm for the next phase of his remarkable career, said Bell. His personal relationships across the Southeast and his exemplary record will be an invaluable asset to this firm.
Justice Harwell brings more than 50 years of legal experience to Bell Legal Group, including 21 years of service as a South Carolina Circuit Court Judge, 10 years of service in the South Carolina Legislature, and 20 years as a practicing attorney. He will work closely with Mr. Bell on select cases and will continue his work in mediation and arbitration as part of his commitment to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), a means of conflict resolution that he was instrumental in bringing to South Carolina.
I look forward to my new association with the Bell Legal Group, Justice Harwell said. Ed Bell is assembling a team of attorneys that will bring about better litigation skills, not just in South Carolina, but in the entire Southeast, and I’m looking forward to working closely with each of them.
I have had the opportunity to work with Ed in the past on mediations, and I have seen firsthand his legal skills. He came to me at the right time and asked if I would come on board to help ease his growing caseload. He knows my background and I know his, so I believe we’ll make a formidable team.
I’m pleased to be associated with an attorney as talented as he is, Harwell continued. He’s not only a brilliant and gifted attorney, but he is a generous, benevolent man as well. I’ve known Ed for about 35 years and his generosity has always impressed me. I’m not sure many people know that side of him, but his consistent record of community involvement is quite impressive.
Justice Harwell said he’s looking forward to getting back into the courtroom and doing what he loves most, which is trying cases. His new position will also give him the chance to do something he’s always hoped to be able to do: to practice law with his youngest son, Baxter, who is an Attorney with Bell Legal Group.
My father epitomizes the idea of a true Southern gentleman lawyer, said Baxter Harwell. His integrity and work ethic is legendary. He always lived with a strong belief that if a case was worth taking, it was worth preparing, and he made sure that my brother and I did the same. With him it’s all about maintaining integrity, being prepared, hard work and a great sense of humor. I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with him.
Justice Harwell was born in the Mars Bluff community of Florence, S.C. He graduated from the University of South Carolina School Of Law in 1958, where he distinguished himself as a member of the editorial board of the South Carolina Law Review, the National College of State Trial Judges at the University of Nevada in 1973, and the American Academy of Judicial Education at the University of Colorado in 1976.
He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1963-1973 where he was a member of the Judiciary committee, the Ways and Means committee, and chairman of the S.C. Agriculture Study Committee. From 1973-1980, he served as a resident circuit judge of the South Carolina Twelfth Judicial Circuit, comprising Florence and Marion counties, and as an Associate Justice on the State Supreme Court from 1981-1990. Justice Harwell was named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina in 1991 and served three years before retiring.
During his time on the bench he approved the use of genetic testing in criminal cases, recognized battered women’s syndrome as a defense and tried the first death penalty case after the death penalty was restored in 1976. Justice Harwell’s tenure on the bench has been described as accessible, innovative, and visionary with his push for mediation as a means of dispute resolution, his reform in the judicial discipline system and his support of the courtroomlive camera rule.
Among his many awards and accomplishments, Justice Harwell received the prestigious Order of the Palmetto from Gov. David Beasley, and the Reid Montgomery Freedom of Information Award from the South Carolina Press Association for opening South Carolina’s courtrooms to cameras. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate degree from both Francis Marion and Coastal Carolina Universities. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar Association, a certified mediator and arbitrator in both the state and federal courts and is a fellow in the American College of Civil Trial Mediators.
He enjoys a national reputation for his work in mediation and arbitration and frequently writes and speaks on Alternative Dispute Resolution, legislation that he was instrumental in bringing to South Carolina as a means of ridding court dockets of backlog and offering alternative means to solve dispute.
Justice Harwell has two sons, Judge R. Bryan Harwell, a U.S. District Federal Judge in Florence, and William Baxter Harwell, an attorney with the Bell Legal Group. He is married to Debbie Harwell, a respected radio personality at WRNN in Myrtle Beach, SC.
