South Carolina Bar Honors Billy Wilkins with Trial and Appellate Advocacy Award

GREENVILLE, SC – January 28, 2013 – The South Carolina Bar honored William W. “Billy” Wilkins with its Trial and Appellate Advocacy Award during the Bar’s annual convention on Friday in Myrtle Beach.  The former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is a Member (partner) of Nexsen Pruet law firm.  He maintains his primary office in Greenville. 

Wilkins is only the third recipient of the award. It is not given annually, but rather when the Trial and Appellate Advocacy section of the S.C. Bar believes that a lawyer has met the requirements. 

The Bar created the Trial and Appellate Advocacy Award to recognize South Carolina lawyers who have demonstrate “substantial dedication to the furtherance of the art and techniques of trial and appellate advocacy;” display exceptional skill and conduct; and spend significant time and effort to educate and train attorneys in the areas of trial and appellate advocacy. 

When accepting the award, Wilkins expressed his deep appreciation and stated that he considered this recognition to be very special because it came from his colleagues, his fellow lawyers at the Bar. 

In addition to serving as the Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit, Wilkins was also President Ronald Reagan’s first selection to the federal bench, appointed in 1981 as U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina. Four years later, Reagan named him Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, with responsibilities that included establishing sentencing guidelines, policies and practices for the federal courts. 

This Bar Association award is the latest in a lifetime of honors for Wilkins, including:

•             University of South Carolina 2013 Compleat Lawyer Platinum Award

•             Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Bar Association

•             International Compliance and Ethics Award from the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics 

Currently, Wilkins leads Nexsen Pruet’s Appellate, White-Collar Crime, and Corporate Compliance/Crisis Management practices, and also serves clients through his work in the firm’s Business Litigation Group. 

(Read more about Wilkins’ distinguished career below.) 

Nexsen Pruet, LLC

Nexsen Pruet, LLC is one of the largest law firms in the Carolinas, with more than 170 attorneys and offices in Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Hilton Head, and Myrtle Beach, S.C. as well as Charlotte, Greensboro, and Raleigh, N.C.  Founded in 1945, Nexsen Pruet provides a broad range of legal services to the business community and represents companies and other entities in local, state, national, and international venues.  For further information, see www.nexsenpruet.com.

 

The Career of Billy Wilkins – Trial and Appellate Advocacy Highlights 

Throughout his life, William W. “Billy” Wilkins has maintained an unwavering commitment to trial and appellate advocacy, and has consistently demonstrated the level of skill, understanding, and knowledge that has benefited his firm, his profession, his clients, and his peers. 

Wilkins has served as Solicitor for the 13th Judicial Circuit, and was the first selection in the nation to the federal bench by President Reagan, who appointed him U. S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina in 1981. He went on to become Chief Judge of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, ultimately serving as a trial and appellate judge for 27 years.  He joined Nexsen Pruet in 2008 and leads the firm’s Appellate Advocacy, White-Collar Criminal Defense, and Corporate Compliance/Crisis Management practices.  He is also very active with the firm’s civil litigation practice. 

Since joining Nexsen Pruet, Wilkins has argued cases before the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the South Carolina Supreme Court, and the Indiana Supreme Court.  He is scheduled to argue before the South Carolina Court of Appeals next month.  And last year in his defense of three fire district commissioners criminally charged with violating the S. C. Freedom of Information Act, a reporter wrote, “His blistering cross examination and fierce arguments before the judge turned what had been considered a slam-dunk for the prosecution into a victory for the defendants.”

He has earned numerous honors and awards that underscore and reinforce the high regard in which he is held professionally. Some of his recognitions include: 

•             Named 2013 Greenville “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in America for appellate practice, and listed among the publication’s Best Lawyers in America for his appellate work.

•             Named a 2012 South Carolina Super Lawyer in Civil Litigation Defense, Criminal Defense: White Collar and Appellate Law.

•             2012 recipient of the Compleat Lawyer Platinum Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law for his “significant contributions to the legal profession” and for exemplifying “the highest standard of professional competence, ethics and integrity.”

•             Recognized among Greenville’s “Legal Elite” by Greenville Business magazine in the Government Affairs and Criminal Law categories.

•             Recognized as a “Leader in the Field” for general commercial litigation by the 2012 edition of Chambers USA.

•             Named among Greenville’s “50 Most Influential” by Greenville Business in its January 2012 issue.

•             2010 recipient of a “Leadership in Law” Award from South Carolina Lawyers Weekly for his “commitment to his community and the Palmetto State as a whole,” and recognizing him as “representing the very best of the legal profession.”

•             Recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Bar Association.

•             Recipient of its International Compliance and Ethics Award from the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

 

Of course, these kinds of accolades do not occur in a vacuum. They are the result of professional achievements – in and out of the courtroom – that reflect Wilkins’ exceptional skills as an advocate. To that end, his efforts in the “Flip This House” case are illustrative. 

The
case dates back to 2004, when Richard Davis was shopping an idea for a house-flipping reality television show. Davis struck a deal with A&E in which the profits from the show, which detailed how his company renovated and sold houses around South Carolina, would be shared equally. A&E produced and aired 13 episodes of “Flip This House.”

A&E did not pay, and Davis sued the network in 2006 for breach of contract and fraud, claiming he had agreed orally with the network to share net revenue. Two years later, a federal jury awarded Davis $4 million, determining that he had entered into an oral contract with A&E even though the terms were not set forth in a written agreement.  A&E appealed, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the lower-court decision in a ruling that the legal publication Benchmark Litigation named the 2011 “South Carolina Case of the Year.”  Wilkins led the successful appellate team. 

But his furtherance of the art and technique of trial and appellate advocacy goes beyond career accomplishments alone.  For example, he has spoken to attorneys and law students alike on the “secrets of effective communication.” In these presentations, he shares his insights – drawn from a lifetime of experience – into how lawyers can be most persuasive in the courtroom. The key, he says, is to be genuine, to be real, and to “speak from the heart.” And while he says that attorneys can learn from observing great trial lawyers, trying to emulate them before a jury will reveal nothing more than “a copycat.” He goes on to say that “copycats” are not seen as sincere, and that any perception of inauthenticity reduces the chance of courtroom success significantly. 

In addition to his instructional speeches, Wilkins has taught appellate advocacy in CLE programs over the years. He has been involved with Moot Courts at Furman University, the Charleston School of Law, and other schools throughout the state for much of his career. He serves as a Visiting Distinguished Professor of Law at the Charleston School of Law and for 24 years taught criminal law and procedure, constitutional law and family law at Greenville Technical College. Additionally, he is the author of numerous law journal articles. 

During his career, Wilkins has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the art, techniques, and unique obligations of trial and appellate advocacy. He has practiced them himself as an attorney. He has represented them on the bench. He has passed them along to his peers, regardless of whether they were newly minted lawyers or experienced attorneys. His contributions are undeniable, and they reflect a life spent advancing the principles and premises of the law.  With more than four decades in the legal profession, he has shaped a body of achievement that has earned him respect among other attorneys, before jurors, and in the community.