February 13-14, 2026

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Registration, Breakfast and Welcome

Poinsette Room, Mezzanine Level

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

The Benefits and Burdens of Utilizing the Arbitration Process

Our speakers will discuss the benefits and burdens of arbitration from the standpoint of the vendor. As a dispute resolution tool, any vendor is well advised to include an arbitration clause in any commercial contract. First and foremost, the vendor can avoid the cost and delay of litigation. Think of all the time and cost expended writing discovery requests. Depending on the amount in controversy, there can be no discovery in arbitration. Further, the vendor can avoid the David and Goliath aspects of a jury trial. And, class action litigation is not a threat in arbitration.

Speakers: 

John W. Gardner, The Gardner Law Firm, Brandon, FL

John A. Massalon, Esq., Wills Massalon & Allen, LLC, Charleston, SC

10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.     BREAK

10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Murdaugh Moxie and Living Life on Your Own Terms 

Our speaker, along with his partner Ronnie Richter, were the lead attorneys for representing most of Alex Murdaugh‘s financial crime victims and have recovered more than $13 million for those victims. He was also one of the voices on many of the nightly news programs, daily newspapers, legal periodicals, and magazines that followed the multiple Murdaugh civil and criminal cases for the last four years, including the double murder trial and the post-verdict hearings. Eric and Ronnie represented six of the twelve jurors who rendered a verdict of guilty in the double murder trial when their verdicts were questioned in hearings that took place almost a year after the verdicts of guilt. His book talks a lot about leadership and the Murdaugh case. Eric will share a few stories about fraud and theft that any business owner should be on guard and vigilant to prevent. There are certain necessary checks and balances that should be in place so that the business is not defrauded.  His book is one of the top-rated books on Amazon right now in true crime. His partner Ronnie Richter and he have been involved in some other famous media driven cases such as representing Lee Spence who discovered the Hunley Submarine’s location, James Brown estate case, Ric Flair’s contract negotiations with the WWE and trademark litigation over his sayings “Wooh” and other famous slogans and the Zachary Hammond shooting case.

Speaker:

Eric S. Bland, Bland Richter, LLP, Lexington, SC

11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.     BREAK

10:15 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

The Blinding of Isaac Woodard and the Awakening of America

Our speaker will share the story of the blinding of Sgt. Isaac Woodard, a battlefield decorated African American veteran, on February 12, 1946, on the day of his discharge from the United States Army by the police chief of Batesburg, South Carolina and the impact of this widely publicized incident of racial violence on President Harry Truman and United States District Judge J. Waties Waring.  This incident inspired President Truman to issue his executive order desegregating the armed forces of the United States and Judge Waring to issue his legendary dissent in Briggs v. Elliott (D.S.C. 1951) that became the model for Brown v. Board of Education three years later.

Speaker:

Hon. Richard M. Gergel, US District Court, District of South Carolina