Barbara M. Seymour

Barbara M. Seymour practices in the area of Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics at Clawson & Staubes, LLC, in Columbia, SC. She assists lawyers and law firms in ensuring ethical compliance, including conflicts analysis; advertising review; risk management assessment; trust account management training; and, departure and dissolution guidance. Barbara also defends lawyers and judges in disciplinary enforcement matters. She represents Bar applicants before the Committee on Character and Fitness and the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Barbara provides consulting and opinions in legal malpractice matters. She represents lawyers and law firms in litigation matters related to disqualification, fee petitions, unauthorized practice of law, and sanctions.

Barbara earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Marketing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1990. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1993. She began her legal career as a trial lawyer in Greenville, SC. She then worked as a prosecutor for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel to the Supreme Court of South Carolina for seventeen years, serving as the Deputy Disciplinary Counsel from 2007 to 2017. She serves an adjunct professor in the Paralegal Degree Program at Midlands Technical College. She previously taught in the Paralegal Certificate Program at Converse College. Her courses have included Civil Litigation, Legal Research and Writing, Business Law, Torts, Introduction to Law and Ethics, and Law Office Management.

Barbara is a member of the South Carolina Bar, the State Bar of Georgia, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, and the Richland County Bar. Barbara was a Fellow of the National Institute for the Teaching of Ethics and Professionalism in 2006 and 2011. She frequently presents continuing legal education programs to state and national audiences on a variety of topics related to professional ethics. She is the creator of the SC Bar’s three-part series Trust Account Academy and the author of Trust Accounting for South Carolina Lawyers: An Annotated Practice Manual. In addition to presenting seminars for MCLE credit, Barbara’s service to the SC Bar includes volunteering for the Law-Related Education, Professional Responsibility, Unauthorized Practice of Law, and Diversity Committees.

• Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility

• Georgia, June 1993
• South Carolina, November 1993

• University of North Carolina at Greensboro, B.S. 1990
• University of Georgia School of Law, J.D. 1993

• National Institute for the Teaching of Ethics and Professionalism - Fellow, 2006 & 2011
• Midlands Technical College Paralegal Studies Dept. - Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year, 2020
• SC Bar - Law Related Education Lawyer of the Year, 2006
• Martindale-Hubbell rating – AV Preeminent
• South Carolina Lawyer's Weekly  - Leadership In Law Award, 2013

• South Carolina Women Lawyers Association
• Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers
• Richland County Bar
• American Bar Association
• ABA Center for Professional Responsibility

• Trust Accounting for South Carolina Lawyers: An Annotated Practice Manual, SC Bar (1^st Ed. 2021)
• Paralegal Survival Guide, Ethics & Professional Responsibility Chapter, SC Bar Publication (4d Ed. 2020)
• New Year’s Resolution: Escheat Unclaimed Funds!, SC Lawyer Magazine (January 2018)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Hunt: Origins of Civility Regulation in South Carolina, SC Lawyer Magazine (May 2013)
• Ethics Watch: An Inside Look at Confidential Discipline, SC Lawyer Magazine (May 2008)
• Uncharted Waters: Navigating a Multijurisdictional Practice, American Public Power Association Annual legal and Regulatory Conference – Charleston, SC (2018)
• The Crucible of Discipline: The Role of Public Shaming in Promoting Professional Conduct and Protecting the Public, National Organization of Bar Counsel Annual Meeting – NYC (2017)
• Just Because You’re Paranoid Doesn’t Mean They’re Not After You: Managing Complaints Against Bar Counsel, (panelist) NOBC Annual Meeting – New York, NY (2017)
• New Challenges in Managing Receiverships, (moderator) NOBC Mid-Year Meeting - Miami, FL (2017)
• Attorney Discipline Procedures From Around the Globe: Comparative Analyses and Best Practices, (panelist) 5th International Conference of Legal Regulators - Washington, DC (2016)
• The Bigger They Are, the Harder They Fall: Challenges in Prosecuting Government Officials, (moderator) NOBC Annual Meeting – San Francisco, CA (2016)
• Ethics & the Elderly Client: Investigating Disciplinary Complaints Related to Representation of Older Clients, (panelist) NOBC Mid-Year Meeting – San Diego, CA (2016)
• Nontraditional Legal Service Providers and the Impact of NC Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC on Lawyer Regulation, (moderator) NOBC Annual Meeting – Chicago, IL (2015)
• Professionalism Mandates & Regulation of Lawyer Civility, NOBC Annual Meeting – Chicago, IL (2015)
• Ten Years of Multijurisdictional Practice: The Challenge of Regulating Cross-Border Practice, NOBC Annual Meeting – Chicago, IL (2015)
• It's Just Adding and Subtracting: Helping Lawyers Avoid Trust Accounting Disasters and Prosecuting Them When They Don't, NOBC Mid-Year Meeting – Houston, TX (2015)
• Is Where You Sit Where You Practice? MJP, UPL, and the Virtual Practice of Law (panelist), 12th Annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference - Chicago, IL (2013)
• Prosecutorial Discretion: Disciplinary Complaints Against Public Defenders, (panelist) NOBC Mid-Year Meeting – Dallas, TX (2013)
• This is Not Your Father’s Law Firm: Investigating "National" Law Firms & Virtual Law Offices, NOBC Annual Meeting – Chicago, IL (2012)
• A LEAPP Forward: South Carolina's Ounce-of-Prevention Approach to Lawyer Discipline, Burge Conference on Law and Ethics, Georgia State University College of Law – Atlanta, GA (2011)
• Mandatory Overdraft Reporting: South Carolina's Holistic Approach to Trust Account Compliance, NOBC Mid-Year Meeting – Atlanta, GA (2011)
• Judicial Ethics & Electronic Communication, National College of Probate Judges Fall Conference – Charleston, SC (2010)
• Finding Your Way: Ethics for the Transportation Lawyer, (panelist) American and Canadian Transportation Lawyers Associations Annual Joint Conference – Hilton Head Island, SC (2010)
• Ethics 2.0: Is New Media Really Changing the World of Legal Ethics? NOBC Annual Meeting – San Francisco, CA (2010)