MGC Adds Eight Attorneys and Opens Office in Florence
McAngus Goudelock & Courie, an insurance defense firm, is pleased to announce the addition of eight workers’ compensation attorneys and the opening of an office in Florence.
Six attorneys are located in the firm’s Greenville office and two attorneys are located in the firm’s Florence office. The Florence office is the firm’s eighth office in the Carolinas.
"We are extremely proud to welcome this group to MGC. We have known many of them personally and certainly professionally for many years. You will not find a better group of lawyers and people," said Jay Courie, MGC’s Managing Member.
Greenville, SC
Vernon Dunbar began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Ernest A. Finney, Jr. of the South Carolina Supreme Court, and has served as a commissioner and chairman for the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. He is a member of the America Bar Association’s Litigation Section and Chair of the Business Torts Committee, as well as a member of the National Bar Association’s Commercial Litigation Committee. Dunbar has been included in The Best Lawyers in America for workers’ compensation law from 2008-2012 and in 2014, and also holds an “AV” rating with Martindale-Hubbell.
Brad Easterling has practiced litigation and workers’ compensation in South Carolina for a number of years, and began his career as a law clerk to former Circuit Court Judge James E. Brogdon, Jr. He is a member of the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association, Greenville Bar Association, Risk and Insurance Management Society and South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association.
Ashley Forbes is a member of the Greenville Bar Association, South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, South Carolina Bar Assocation’s Young Lawyers Division and South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association.
Stephanie Pugh is a member of the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association’s Planning Committee, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association, South Carolina Women Lawyers Association and Greenville Young Lawyers Association.
Bill Shaughnessy has represented numerous clients in workers’ compensation claims for over 40 years. He is a Past President and current Board Member of the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association and is Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Improvement of Workers’ Compensation Laws. Shaughnessy has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association, and has been included in numerous editions of The Best Lawyers in America for workers’ compensation law. He was also included in the 2012 edition of South Carolina Super Lawyers and holds an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Shayne Williams represents large, self-insured clients, employers and carriers in their workers’ compensation claims. He has appeared before the South Carolina Supreme Court, the South Carolina Court of Appeals, the South Carolina Circuit Court and the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. Shayne regularly presents at seminars regarding the changes and issues in workers’ compensation law in South Carolina, and has been quoted in a treatise on multi-jurisdictional workers’ compensation issues. He is a member of the Greenville County Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association and South Carolina Self Insurers’ Association. He serves on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association. Williams has been included in the most recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America for workers’ compensation law and holds an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Florence, SC
Walt Barefoot has focused on workers’ compensation defense since 1991, and has experience defending carriers and employers in South Carolina. He is a former Board member of the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association. Barefoot is also a member of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association, South Carolina Self Insurers’ Association and the South Carolina Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensatino Section Council. He is a 2010 Leadership in Law Award recipient by South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
Brandon Hylton has practiced workers’ compensation defense since 2002. He has been recognized by the Supreme Court of South Carolina as a certified mediator, and mediates workers’ compensation claims throughout the state. Hylton is a member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association, South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association and South Carolina Self Insurers Association.
"The addition of six new attorneys to our workers’ compensation team in Greenville solidifies our commitment and service to clients in the Upstate. We are equally excited about the opening of our office in Florence. In conjunction with our presence in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, we have an even greater opportunity to serve clients throughout the Pee Dee and Coastal Regions of South Carolina," said Courie.