Culture and Core Values
Turner Padget’s attorneys and professionals take pride in our work as a team, and we promote a collegial and familial atmosphere. We roll up our sleeves together, whether we are in the office serving a client, in the courtroom or out in the communities in which we live and work. Turner Padget’s culture can be defined as one of respect and professionalism. Recognizing that each person in the firm is an asset in serving our clients, our management team and shareholders have created an environment where respect, listening, mentoring and exceptional service is expected. Attorneys and staff at all levels play critical roles on client matters and overall firm projects. We have an “open door policy,” and you’ll find that everyone here – regardless of rank – is willing to answer questions, be approached on a first-name basis, and pitch in to make sure we are providing the best possible solutions for our clients. We are proud that we have over forty employees who have been with the firm at least fifteen years.
Culture of Respect
Turner Padget’s culture can be defined as one of respect and professionalism. Our commitment to client service does not start at the shareholder level. Recognizing that each person in the firm is an asset in serving our clients, our management group and owners have created a culture where respect, listening, mentoring and exceptional service is expected. Attorneys and staff at all levels play critical roles on client matters and overall firm projects.
Diversity
The professionals who walk our halls, the clients we serve and the organizations we support are evidence of Turner Padget’s commitment to diversity, and our dedication to creating a diverse workforce has long been a foundation of our firm’s success.
With regional, national and international clients, our professionals reflect those we serve. We hire and retain diverse individuals who bring varied talents, backgrounds and life experiences to both the courtroom and the boardroom. We promote diversity in numerous ways:
- Turner Padget maintains a diverse workforce and, through the firm's recruiting efforts, actively seeks to hire attorneys with diverse backgrounds.
- The firm has a formal Diversity Committee which seeks opportunities to enhance and develop the skills and talents of the firm's attorneys, identifies opportunities to work with diverse clients, educates the firm's attorneys and staff on diversity-related issues, and seeks ways to create and maintain an inclusive workforce that values and respects diversity and that is enhanced by openness, trust, teamwork, accountability and involvement.
- Turner Padget hosted a women’s leadership conference for all female attorneys and directors. This was a day-and-a-half retreat focused on leadership issues, achievements and goals for the following year.
- Turner Padget actively recruits at the Southeastern Minority Job Fair.
- The firm represents Columbia College, a private liberal arts women’s college, with co-ed programs offered and students enrolled from twenty countries. The firm actively supports Columbia College by sponsoring speakers for the Leadership Institute of Columbia College.
- Turner Padget is a member and supporter of the South Carolina Diversity Council which promotes and encourages diversity in workplaces throughout South Carolina.
- The firm supports the Black Student Law Associations at the University of South Carolina and the Charleston Law School and sponsors their annual banquets.
- Elaine Fowler, a Charleston-based shareholder, was the first female president of the South Carolina Bar and currently serves on the board of the South Carolina Bar Foundation. She continues to promote the advancement of women as a member of the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association. Ms. Fowler was selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
- Nosi Ralephata, who is a native of Zimbabwe, serves on the International Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. Ms. Ralephata was selected for inclusion in the Charleston Regional Business Journal's list of "Forty Under Forty," which is comprised of the forty most prominent and influential professionals under the age of forty in the greater Charleston area.
- Julie Moose serves on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association and as a representative to the ABA Section of Litigation Women's Advocate.
- John Cuttino and Reggie Belcher serve on the Defense Research Institute’s Diversity Committee.
- Vernon Dunbar, who is the managing shareholder of the firm's Greenville office, is a member of the National Bar Association, an organization created in 1925 by African-American attorneys. Mr. Dunbar was selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and he formerly served as chair of the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.
- Donnell Jennings served on the board of directors of the Auntie Karen Foundation, a global charitable corporation with the mission of creating and implementing community outreach programs that will empower, enlighten and educate children through the arts.
- Reginald Belcher serves as the Diversity Chair for the board of directors for the Sumter Society for Human Resource Management and formerly held the same position for the Columbia Society for Human Resource Management. Mr. Belcher also serves as a guest lecturer at Benedict College, a historically black college.
- Nosi Ralephata and David Cobb are graduates of the Riley Diversity Leaders Initiative, which is affiliated with the Riley Institute at Furman University.
- Turner Padget served as host to fourteen judges from Azerbaijan. The firm hosted the judges in both Columbia and Charleston. The Azerbaijan judges toured the state's judicial and legal education system during a two-week visit. The ABA, Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative and the United States Agency for International Development sponsored the study tour.