SC Bar Young Lawyers Division Blog

By Amy E. McLaren, associate at Willson Jones Carter & Baxley, PA Almost any night of the week a news program showcases the opioid crisis in this country. Whether class actions against the drug companies, medical malpractice claims against the doctors who prescribe these medications, or criminal charges against illegal users themselves, there is no shortage of litigation related to this crisis either. The South Carolina Supreme Court will soon answer a question, which may control whether civil lawyers see a whole new set of cases related to opioid addiction in this state. As every attorney learned from torts class in law school, a plaintiff establishes negligence by proving a duty of care owed by the defendant; a breach of that duty by a negligent act or omission; that the breach was a proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury; and the plaintiff has damages as result of said negligence. When those elements are broken down further, proximate cause requires both proof of ...

By Jeffrey K. Gurney Automated vehicles will likely be the definitive disruptive technology of the 21 st century—in some ways, like the automobile was in the 20 th century.  Young lawyers today will likely experience the introduction and proliferation of highly automated vehicles.  In this blog post, I briefly introduce these disruptions and provide some advice on how to prepare for them.      Motor Vehicle Crashes There are two principal implications for the legal community with respect to vehicle crashes in an automated vehicle world.  First, there are likely going to be fewer automobile crashes than there are today.  Second, the types of claims asserted when these crashes do occur may differ than the types of claims asserted now.   Vehicle automation should mean fewer vehicle crashes.  In 2015, there were a total of 6,296,000 motor vehicle crashes in the United States.  Of th...

The YLD 5th Circuit and Wills Clinic Committee held a Columbia Habitat for Humanity Wills Clinic on June 30, 2018.  There were 6 volunteer YLD attorneys who helped draft wills and healthcare documents for 20 Habitat homeowners from the Central Habitat affiliate.  The homeowners were thankful to all of the young lawyers that were able to give their time to help with an important part of planning the future for generations to come. Be on the lookout for more opportunities to volunteer with the YLD Wills Clinic!

With the European Union’s (“EU”) General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) set to take effect on  May 25, 2018 , the time is  now (yesterday really) to consider how this law will affect many aspects of your relationship with your clients and how your practice operates.  Before discussing the major topics within the GDPR, it is important to define several terms that exists within the GDPR Framework. (Note: Article References are to the GDPR  text [1] ) Key Terms Controller – As defined in Article 4(7) and described further in Article 26 a “Controller” is the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; where the purposes and means of such processing are determined by Union or Member State law, the controller or the specific criteria for its nomination may be provided for by Union or Member State law.  Data ...

By: Molly McDonald The auditing requirements for partnerships and limited liability companies taxed as partnerships have changed.   If your LLC is taxed as a partnership, not updating your LLC’s Operating Agreement could end up costing you power over the actions of your LLC and money.   In 2015, Congress enacted the Bipartisan Budget Agreement of 2015, or the BBA.   Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-74, 129 Stat. 584 (2015).   Beginning January 1 of this year, the BBA caused the Internal Revenue Service’s audit rules for partnerships and businesses taxed as partnerships to change.   Pub. L. No. 114-74, § 1101. In the past, the IRS did not audit partnerships, it only audited members of partnerships.   Gregory H. Taggart, LLCs: New Rules and Regulations , 4-5 (Jan. 2018).   Under the BBA, not only may the IRS audit a partnership, but it also may collect underpayment and penalties from previous years from the par...