Alumni Highlights

David H. Wilkins

The Honorable David H. Wilkins, Class of 1971, was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Canada on June 21. He took the oath in Washington, in the State Department's Benjamin Franklin Room.

As quoted in The Greenville News, Wilkins said, "I'm going with the idea that we have a strong relationship, have been strong allies over decades, and while we may have some disagreements, I want to use my efforts to build and strengthen our relationship."

Wilkins was a partner of Wilkins & Madden in Greenville, S.C. In 1971, he joined the United States Army and served in the Army Reserve from 1973 to 1976. He began to serve in the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1981 and was elected speaker pro tempore in 1992. He was elected speaker in 1994 and served continuously in that position until June.

Wilkins chaired President George W. Bush's South Carolina re-election effort and was the recipient of the 2004 William M. Bulger Excellence in State Legislature Leadership Award, given each year by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, and the Council of State Governments.

Congratulations to USC alumni David Dukes and Ken Suggs. We can all be proud that they hold the top positions in the premier defense lawyers organization and trial lawyers organization. This is an outstanding achievement for them, and will show lawyers across the nation the strengths of the School of Law and its alumni.

David E. Dukes

David E. Dukes, Class of 1984, and managing partner at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, began service as president of DRI in July. DRI is the largest national association of lawyers and others concerned with the defense of civil actions. Dukes practices in the areas of pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, business litigation, technology law and litigation, and coordination of national litigation.

Under Dukes' leadership as firm managing partner, Nelson Mullins received the John Minor Wisdom Award for public service and professionalism from the American Bar Association in 2005.

Dukes is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2003-2006 editions. He is a permanent member of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel. In addition, Dukes is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and member of the Richland County Bar Association and the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association.

Kenneth M. Suggs

Kenneth M. Suggs, of Janet Jenner & Suggs, LLC, in Columbia, earned his JD from the School of Law in 1975. This fall he begins service as president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), a broad-based international coalition of attorneys, law professors, paralegals, and law students. He formerly served on the Board of Governors, and as parliamentarian and treasurer of ATLA.

Suggs was president of the Richland County Bar Association in 1999 and is also involved with Trial Lawyers for Public Justice. He is a founding fellow of the Southern Trial Lawyers Association and an Advocate member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Suggs has received numerous awards and honors including the Compleat Lawyer Award from the Law School Alumni Association and the Weidemann-Wysocki Award from ATLA.

He has been admitted to the South Carolina Bar, as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. His areas of practice are catastrophe, personal injury, pharmaceutical litigation, medical products liability, insurance bad faith, and medical malpractice.

Margaret C. Pope

Margaret C. Pope, Class of 1975, and a public finance attorney in the Columbia office of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., has been appointed by Governor Mark Sanford to serve on the Governor's Commission on Women (GCW).

"Margaret Pope has worked to become a leader, both in her law practice and community, and she actively serves as a mentor to other professional women," Sanford said. "Her input on the commission will be invaluable." In her new appointment, Pope will help to advise the governor on matters related to the needs of women in South Carolina.

Practicing public finance for over 25 years, Pope is also a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the American College of Bond Lawyers.

A native of Greenwood, S.C., she is a former member of the Newberry College Board of Trustees and has also served on the Board of Directors for the Newberry Opera House Foundation. Pope currently serves as a founding board member of the Drummond Center at Erskine College and is on the foundation board of Midlands Technical College.

Franklin G. Daniels

Franklin G. Daniels, a 1998 graduate of the School of Law, with a Master of Laws in taxation from New York University, has been selected to serve as general counsel and senior vice president for Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc. A former partner with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Myrtle Beach, Daniels is responsible for all of Burroughs & Chapin's corporate legal work and related activities, including corporate ethics policies and procedures.

His expertise includes practice in the areas of corporate law, economic development, public finance, taxation, financial institutions and real estate. Daniels is also experienced in economic development and public finance transactions as well as corporate and partnership tax, tax-exempt issues and tax issues involved in real estate transactions.

D. Reece Williams III

Columbia native D. Reece Williams III has been elected president of the Thomas Cooper Society. A 1964 graduate of the School of Law, he will lead the society in continuing to support the USC's Thomas Cooper Library, which houses some 8 million volumes and documents. Special collections housed in the library include the works of Audubon, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joseph Heller, John Jakes, Bertrand Russell, Robert Burns, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Carlisle, and William Faulkner.

Caption for photo: D. Reece Williams III discusses the Society's agenda with Donna Sorensen, wife of USC President Andrew A. Sorensen.

Alumni Profile

Tameika C. Isaac Devine

"I think everyone should continuously set goals. Every time you achieve one, set another." These are the words alumna Tameika C. Isaac Devine has lived by, and that have allowed her to make history in more ways than one.

After achieving her first major goal of graduation from the USC School of Law in 1997, Devine worked as staff attorney for Carolina Regional Legal Services, where her primary focus was domestic cases. Devine then joined the prosecution section of the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, where she was an assistant attorney general responsible for the prosecution of family violence and sexual assault cases, as well as the training of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and magistrates.

Devine first made the record books when she partnered with fellow USC law alumnae Gail B. Jabber and Toyya Brawley Gray to begin Jabber, Gray & Isaac, P.A. The practice is the first all female African-American law firm in South Carolina.

Devine has also made her mark in local history through community service. Her election to the at-large seat on Columbia City Council made her the first African-American female to serve on city council, the first African-American to be elected at-large, and the youngest person ever to serve.

While on city council, Devine has worked on issues such as the Columbia Police Department-sponsored Gun Buy Back Program, and Columbia's Opportunity Resource (COR), a group whose goal is to recruit and keep talented young people in Columbia following graduation.

Devine's recognition and awards include being named in The State newspaper's "Top 20 under 40" list and receiving the Girl Scout Women of Distinction Award. She considers these her proudest moments because they allow her to be a role model for young people. She credits her educational, professional, and community achievements to those who have influenced her, including USC law professor James R. Burkhard, and her parents, Henry and Veronica Isaac. "Professor Burkhard always reminded me that you can't let the little things mess with your self-esteem ... and that stuck with me and helped me get through the tough times. My parents instilled in me, through example, to always be involved in the community."

When asked about her future goals, Devine said she does not rule out anything. Her long-term considerations include returning to USC as a faculty member, or possibly running for another political office. Presently, though, Devine says she is completely happy at her firm and with serving Columbia as a city council member. Her next biggest challenge will be to raise the daughter she is expecting in September.