The Legal Role Models that Have Shaped My Career

My interest in the law was shaped by my exposure and experience in the S.C. Human Affairs Commission and networking with various civil rights attorneys that graduated from Benedict College. Here are a few of the attorneys that I met during my time at Benedict College that shaped my interest in the law.

Charles Boykin is a managing partner at the law firm of Boykin, Davis & Smiley LLC in Columbia, South Carolina. He practices in all areas of education law, with an emphasis on board/superintendent relations, personnel, employment and labor, higher education, local government, construction, and civil rights. He has extensive trial experience and has practiced before all State and federal courts in South Carolina. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Benedict College in 1974, his Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree from the University of South Carolina in 1977, and his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1992. Prior to entering law school, he worked for the City of Anderson (SC) and Clemson University.

I.S. Leevy Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1965 from Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina, and earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1968. He is a founding shareholder in the law firm of Johnson, Toal, & Battiste in Columbia, South Carolina, and he focuses on criminal and civil litigation. He was honored by his legal peers in 1985, when he was elected President of the South Carolina Bar. I.S. has received the highest rating for ethics and legal ability awarded by the Martindale Hubbell National rating service.

Judge DeAndrea Benjamin serves as a judge on the Richland County Circuit court in Columbia, South Carolina. She was the guest speaker for the Benedict College Constitution Day program in September 2014. She is the daughter of famed Columbia attorney Donald Gist. She went on to graduate from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina in 1990, and received her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1994 where she she served on the Student Government Council and was selected as a Kellogg Child Welfare Fellow. She was admitted to the South Carolina Bar on November 18, 1997, the SC District Court in September 2001 and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in November of 2002. Following law school, Judge Benjamin clerked for the Honorable L. Casey Manning. Upon completing her clerkship she began her career as a Prosecutor in the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office and the Attorney General's Office. In 2001, she joined her father's law firm, Gist Law Firm, where she practiced until being elected to the Circuit Court bench on February 2, 2011.She has served on the Juvenile Parole Board (2001-2004) and as a Municipal Judge for the City of Columbia from July 2004 until April 2011. She is married to Stephen Benjamin, the mayor of the City of Columbia.

Stephen 'Steve' K. Benjamin (born December 1, 1969) is the Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. He started his first term in July 2010, and is the first black mayor in the city's history. Before serving as mayor, he worked in the Columbia metropolitan area as an attorney and served on various charitable organizations. On November 5, 2013, Benjamin won re-election for mayor with 64% of the vote. Benjamin's parents are from Orangeburg, South Carolina, but relocated in the 1960's during the Great Migration (African American)and moved to Queens, New York, where Benjamin was born. Benjamin spent his childhood growing up in New York City where his parents, Sam and Maggie Benjamin, worked numerous jobs to support Steve and his elder brother Samuel. After a stable adolescence in New York, Benjamin relocated to Columbia where he was admitted into the University of South Carolina to study Political Science. During his studies, Benjamin became active in many student organizations that influenced his career path. He was actively involved in the student chapter of NAACP, eventually becoming president. Benjamin was also elected as student body president during his undergraduate career and went on to become president of the University of South Carolina School of Law student bar association during his third year. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Benjamin was the principal of the Benjamin Law Firm, LLC, in Columbia, SC where his practice emphasized governmental strategic planning, administrative and regulatory work, municipal finance and general business matters.On March 2, 1999, Benjamin was appointed to the Governor's Cabinet by Governor Jim Hodges serving as the Director of the South Carolina Probation, Pardon, and Parole Services. Benjamin has also served as the Regional Manager of Public Affairs for International Paper Company, Manager of Corporate Affairs at Carolina Power & Light Company. He additionally worked as an Associate in the Administrative and Regulatory practice of the prominent McNair Law Firm in Columbia, South Carolina.