SUCCESS STORIES - THE NORTH & SOUTH CAROLINA LAW OFFICES OF HEDRICK GARDNER ATTORNEYS

Charlotte - Raleigh
Wilmington - Columbia

In the July 9, 2007 index issue of South Carolina Lawyer’s Weekly, a case handled by Hedrick Gardner’s Edwin P. Martin, was listed as one of the 50 most important Appellate Court opinions issued this year to date in the state. Martin, a partner in the firm’s Columbia office, argued the case of Jordan v. Kelly Co. Inc., where the respondent was employed as a long-haul truck driver for the trucking company specializing in transporting oversized equipment. The respondent suffered a heart attack during one of his trips for Kelly Co., Inc. and claimed the attack resulted from unexpected strain or over-exertion in the performance of duties of his employment, or extraordinary conditions of his particular trip on January 11, 2003. The respondent sought workers’ compensation benefits and the single commission issued an order reflecting the heart attack was compensable. However, the Appeals Court reversed the decision, citing there was evidence to support the ruling that the circumstances of the trip were not extraordinary.
Phillip Florence, Jr. was appointed by South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford, to the State Ethics Commission on June 21, 2007. His term will run from June 30, 2006 to June 30, 2011. The State Ethics Commission is the state agency responsible for enforcement of the state’s ethics laws. It is responsible for financial disclosure, campaign disclosure, and ethical rules of conduct for all public employees, public officeholders, and public members in the Rules of Conduct as outlined in the Ethics Reform Act. The Commission may issue formal (binding opinion) advisory opinions as well as conduct investigations and hearings into complaints. Florence is a partner in the firm’s Columbia office whose areas of practice include employment law, insurance defense and coverage, and general civil litigation. He also has extensive experience handling cases involving the Title VII (sexual harassment, racial discrimination and gender discrimination), South Carolina Human Affairs Commission/Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaints, wrongful termination, breach of employment contract, policy and handbook issues, and drafting and negotiating employment agreements. A graduate of The Citadel and the University of South Carolina, he has been practicing law for 13 years. Prior to attending law school, Florence was a wide receiver for the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.