Two Richardson Plowden attorneys, Francis M. Mack and Franklin J. Smith, Jr., have extensive experience in engineering, which serves them well in the firm’s Construction Law Practice Area.

From 2001-2003, shareholder Lydia Magee, who is a Myrtle Beach native, was a law clerk to the Honorable Kaye G. Hearn, Chief Judge for the South Carolina Court of Appeals.

A former intelligence officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, shareholder Eugene H. Matthews is certified by South Carolina Supreme Court as a Specialist in Employment and Labor Law, as a mediator, and as an arbitrator.

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Office
1900 Barnwell Street
Columbia, SC 29201

P.O. Drawer 7788
Columbia, SC 29202

Contact Details
Direct: 803.253.8709
Fax: 803.779.0016
Email: egifford@RichardsonPlowden.com

Practice Areas
Construction Litigation
Insurance Defense
Federal, State and Local Procurement
Fidelity and Surety

Education
University of South Carolina Honors College (B.A., English, cum laude, 2001)
University of South Carolina School of Public Health (M.A., Health Administration, 2005)
University of South Carolina School of Law (J.D., 2005)

Student Editor in Chief, ABA Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal (2004-2005)
John Belton O'Neall Inn of Court (2004-2005)
Phi Delta Phi, Calhoun Inn (2004-2005)
CALI Award, Constitutional Law II
Omicron Delta Kappa (2000-2001)

Bar Admissions
2005, South Carolina
2006, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina

Other Professional
Member, American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS),
Fidelity and Surety Law Committee, Forum on the Construction Industry
Member, Surety Claims Institute
Member, National Association of Women in Construction
Young Lawyers Division, South Carolina Bar
Richland County Bar Association
South Carolina Women Lawyers Association
Member, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association
Executive Editor, TortSource
Chair-Elect, TIPS Self Insurers and Risk Managers Committee

Publications
Author, "The National Practitioner Data Bank: Not for Public Consumption," 42 Medical Trial Technique Quarterly 223, 2002.

Emily R. Gifford joined Richardson Plowden in 2005 as an associate in the Columbia office. She focuses her practice on construction law, including surety law and commercial litigation. She earned her master's in health administration while completing her juris doctor at the University of South Carolina (USC). She also earned her bachelor's degree in English, cum laude, from the USC Honors College in 2001.

As a law student, Ms. Gifford was the student editor in chief of the ABA Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal and received a CALI Award in Constitutional Law II. She also was a member of the John Belton O'Neall Inn of Court and Phi Delta Phi, Calhoun Inn. In 2002, she wrote the article "The National Practitioner Data Bank: Not for Public Consumption" for Medical Trial Technique Quarterly.

Ms. Gifford is a special prosecutor for the Office of the Attorney General, assisting in the prosecution of criminal domestic violence cases on a pro bono basis. She is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Tortsource Editorial Board, where she serves as executive editor. She is also the Chair-elect of the TIPS Self Insurers and Risk Managers Committee and is on the TIPS Outreach to Young Lawyers Taskforce.

Ms. Gifford is a member of the Palmetto Health Hospice and Palliative Care Board. She is involved with the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the South Carolina Bar, and was a member of the South Carolina YLD Social Media Taskforce. Ms. Gifford also is a member of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association Construction Law Committee.