South Carolina Bar News October 2009 : Page 1

South Carolina BarNEWS www.scbar.org S.C. Bar breaks ground on new conference center The South Carolina Bar officially broke ground on its new conference center on September 2. The ceremony was held on the new property at the corner of Hampton and Park streets in downtown Columbia, adjacent to the existing Bar building. The three-story, 17,800 square foot facility, designed by The Boudreaux Group in Columbia, will be used to accommodate con- tinuing legal education programs and other Bar related meetings. The exterior appearance of the building will feature deep red brick, Groundbreaking, continued on page 3. October 2009 Vol. 21, No. 1 From left: Mayor Bob Coble, Former Building Committee Chair Craig Garner, President Fred Suggs, Chief Justice Toal and Former Building Committee Chair Lanny Lambert. Busy attorneys flock to Bar’s Distance Learning offerings The Bar’s Distance Learning program is experiencing record growth as busy attorneys continue to look for ways to maximize their profitability, satisfy CLE requirements and catch up on the latest legal developments without leaving the office. The popular Seminars Direct Online program recently reported a 74 percent annual increase in online credit hours, which represents the single largest jump in the history of the program. Nearly 2,000 Bar members earned an average of 3.6 online credit hours each during the most recent reporting year. “We’re thrilled with the recent growth,” said Matt Riley, the Bar’s Distance Learning Manager. “We’re doing our best to pro- vide choices and flexibility in terms of CLE content, and this is a great sign that our members are really responding.” The most popular form of Distance Learning, Seminars Direct Online allows attorneys to take CLE classes online from their homes, offices or anywhere an Internet connection is available, with the ability to pause, resume and even re- watch the seminar for up to 30 days. With more than 130 seminars spanning 30 practice areas, attorneys appreciate the broad selection offered by Seminars Direct Online. Tom Runge, an attorney from Columbia, said, “I was pleasantly sur- prised at the ease of the process along with the number of topics and options within the topics.” The Bar regularly adds Distance Learning, continued on page 5. INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Bar Bytes Bar Foundation News Calendar Classifieds CLE News Firm Announcements Judicial Advisory Opinions Legal Administrators News Risk Management 11 4 26 27 14-15 6 22 12 16

S. C. BAR BREAKS GROUND ON NEW CONFERENCE CENTER

The South Carolina Bar officially broke ground on its new conference center on September 2. The ceremony was held on the new property at the corner of Hampton and Park streets in downtown Columbia, adjacent to the existing Bar building. The three-story, 17,800 square foot facility, designed by The Boudreaux Group in Columbia, will be used to accommodate continuing legal education programs and other Bar related meetings. The exterior appearance of the building will feature deep red brick, Arched windows, cast stone accents and unique curved rooflines, consistent with the character of the Vista. The interior will feature two floors of conference and meeting space and a third floor of offices for the continuing education staff. A 96-seat auditorium with non-fixed seating and state-of-the-art technology for in person, web and telephone educational and conference capabilities will be located on the first floor. Three conference rooms capable of accommodating 12 to 30 people, as well as a business retreat area with business center, will be located on the second floor. The Bar is pursuing LEED Certification for environmentally friendly construction, operation and maintenance. Bar President Fred W. Suggs Jr. Said, “The Bar is pleased with what this new construction will offer in terms of dedicated parking and meeting space and the ability to deliver quality CLE programming to our members. We are also proud to play a role in the revitalization of this portion of downtown Columbia.” Others in attendance included Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean H. Toal; Justice Costa Pleicones; Justice John Kittredge; City of Columbia Mayor Bob Coble; past president Lanny Lambert; past president Brad Waring; Building Committee members Craig Garner, Amy Hill, Bert Cassell and Dan Lott; Richland County Councilman Jim Manning; and representatives from The Boudreaux Group, Fitts and Goodwin (General Contractors) and S.C. Bank & Trust. Completion of the building is expected in fall of 2010.

BUSY ATTORNEYS FLOCK TO BAR’S DISTANCE LEARNING OFFERINGS

The Bar’s Distance Learning program is experiencing record growth as busy attorneys continue to look for ways to maximize their profitability, satisfy CLE requirements and catch up on the latest legal developments without leaving the office. The popular Seminars Direct Online program recently reported a 74 percent annual increase in online credit hours, which represents the single largest jump in the history of the program. Nearly 2,000 Bar members earned an average of 3. 6 online credit hours each during the most recent reporting year. “We’re thrilled with the recent growth,” said Matt Riley, the Bar’s Distance Learning Manager. “We’re doing our best to provide choices and flexibility in terms of CLE content, and this is a great sign that our members are really responding.” The most popular form of Distance Learning, Seminars Direct Online allows attorneys to take CLE classes online from their homes, offices or anywhere an Internet connection is available, with the ability to pause, resume and even rewatch the seminar for up to 30 days. With more than 130 seminars spanning 30 practice areas, attorneys appreciate the broad selection offered by Seminars Direct Online. Tom Runge, an attorney from Columbia, said, “I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of the process along with the number of topics and options within the topics.” The Bar regularly adds Seminars to the catalog, producing content specifically for online use as well as archiving footage of live seminars around the state. Nearly 80 percent of the seminars currently online were produced within the past year, and the Bar periodically releases seminars based on new legislation and major court decisions. In addition to the Seminars Direct Online catalog, the Bar also offers several other convenient ways to earn CLE credit from afar. Most live CLE seminars sponsored by the Bar are now available as live webcasts, allowing attorneys to watch the presentations in real time from any computer with an Internet connection. Live webcasts also offer the ability to ask questions of the speakers, download course materials and access the archived seminar video for up to 30 days. Yet another option, the Bar’s live teleseminars are accessible from any mobile phone or landline, bringing together top practitioners from around the country in a conference-call style discussion. “Distance Learning is the wave of the future,” said Ross Wagner, an attorney in Greer. “Its ease of use and flexibility, coupled with the wider breadth of programs offered, makes it an invaluable tool for lawyers with too much work and not enough time.” With so many options to choose from, it’s not surprising that attorneys are gravitating toward the Bar’s Distance Learning offerings for convenient and practical CLE programming. In upcoming editions of S.C. Bar News, several South Carolina attorneys will share their experiences using various Distance Learning options for the first time. Be sure to check out future issues to see what they have to say about this rapidly growing CLE trend. In the meantime, please visit www.scbar.org/ distance learning and select a program that best meets the needs of your practice.

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