J. Joseph "Joe" Owens

Professional Experience Nathan Crystal is a scholar and a practicing attorney. He has advised individuals and entities, including major law firms, on matters of contract law and professional ethics and has lectured throughout the world on these subjects. He frequently serves as expert witness or consultant in multimillion dollar cases. Nathan Crystal is a Class of 1969 Professor Emeritus of Professional Responsibility and Contract Law, University of South Carolina. He taught for 34 years at t...

Attorney Benjamin W. Akery is a partner at the Steinberg Law Firm. Based out of the Goose Creek office, Ben primarily handles personal injury and workers' compensation cases. Ben earned his undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston and obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from Emory University's School of Law. He is an active member of the South Carolina Bar Association, Charleston County Bar, and Berkeley County Bar, where he served on the board of directors and as president of the ...

Ken Harrell joined Joye Law Firm in 1994 and became a managing partner in 2006. With 30 years of experience, he protects the rights of injured South Carolinians, including cases involving workers’ compensation, car accidents, and defective products. Ken also heads up the firm’s pharmaceutical and medical device litigation group.

Cheryl H. Ledbetter is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management. Cheryl H., who practices law in Charleston, South Carolina, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Cheryl H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Guy Dabbs is a real estate attorney with Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd's Charleston office, where he represents clients in a variety of transactional matters. Guy focuses a significant portion of his practice on commercial real estate, including acquisition and development, title review, leasing and lender financing. He also advises on corporate matters, including entity formation, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance, and he serves as outside general counsel for a number of clients.

Lesley Firestone advises clients on a wide range of environmental matters, including permitting, regulatory compliance, and transactional support for the acquisition and development of contaminated properties. She also provides strategic counsel on environmental liability considerations in business transactions. Lesley regularly represents clients before the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services in matters involving Brownfield Agreements, underground storage tanks, solid waste r...

Brian is a member of Butler Snow’s Finance, Real Estate and Restructuring group. He represents institutional investors, private equity funds, regional and national developers, and institutional landlords in all stages of real estate development and investment, including horizontal infrastructure, vertical construction, acquisition, disposition, joint ventures, financing, restructuring and leasing (including ground leases and build-to-suit leases) of trophy office buildings, build-to-ren...

Attorney Thomas M. White is a partner at Steinberg Law Firm and exclusively handles workers' compensation and personal injury cases. After he graduated from the University of Virginia with distinction, Tom studied law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. He was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1978 and joined Steinberg in 1980. Tom is an active member in the legal community as he is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association, Charleston County Bar Association, and South...

Newman Jackson Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Environmental Law, Government Relations Practice, Litigation - Environmental and Water Law. Newman Jackson, who practices law in Charleston, South Carolina, has been recognized since 1993. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Newman Jackson is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Marlon Kimpson represents victims of corporate malfeasance, from investors in securities fraud cases to consumers harmed by large data and privacy breaches, as well as people injured or killed in catastrophic incidents. Building upon the firm’s relationships with unions and governmental entities, Marlon represents individuals, state and municipality pension funds, multi-employer plans, unions and other institutional investors in securities fraud class actions and in mergers and acquisit...