LAWYERS IN CHARLESTON & SUMMERVILLE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Paralegal to William H. Waring, III.
Alicia joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A. in March 2022 as an Administrative Assistant in the Summerville office. Originally from Waldorf, Maryland, she graduated from Pasco-Hernando State College with an Associate's Degree. Alicia worked in the Charleston legal community for the past 10 years as a paralegal and municipal court clerk. She is married with a son and daughter, and in her free time enjoys spending time with her family and traveling with her kids, exploring different places in the United States.
Job Titles:
- Paralegal to Paul R. Thurmond
David L. Barnes, Jr. was born in Allendale, South Carolina on June 10, 1977. He grew up in the town of Estill in Hampton County, South Carolina.
David earned his bachelor's degree in Business Management and Marketing from the University of South Carolina. Before attending law school, Mr. Barnes worked in Columbia, SC, in governmental affairs as a legislative consultant and lobbyist.
in 2005, David earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Mr. Barnes began his practice of law in Columbia, SC at the law firm McCutchen, Blanton, Johnson and Barnette, practicing in the legal areas of construction law, personal injury, and insurance defense.
He later moved to Charleston to pursue his career at the firm Pierce, Herns, Sloan and McLeod, practicing in the litigation fields of construction law, insurance defense, products liability, and personal injury litigation.
Mr. Barnes joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, PA, in September of 2010 as an attorney in the firm's construction and civil litigation practice groups.
David and his wife, the former Isbell Lane Irick of Holly Hill, SC, live in Mount Pleasant and have a son and daughter, David Lawton and Laney. They are members of Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church.
Jesse A. Kirchner was born in Aiken, South Carolina, the only child of Dr. Allen W. Kirchner, Jr. and Kim H. Kirchner. He grew up in Aiken and began college at the University of South Carolina when he was 16 years old. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Kirchner earned his 100 Ton Master Captain's License from the United States Coast Guard and captained a charter fishing boat out of Hilton Head Island, S.C. Mr. Kirchner also traveled extensively during this time, visiting places such as Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Scandinavia. Mr. Kirchner later returned to the University of South Carolina to earn his Juris Doctorate with honors from the School of Law, graduating in the top five percent of his law school class.
During law school, Mr. Kirchner served as a summer law clerk to the Honorable Sol Blatt, Jr., Senior United States District Court Judge for South Carolina. He also served as a law clerk for the Senate Transportation Committee under the chairmanship of Senator W. Greg Ryberg. After law school, Mr. Kirchner began his legal career with the law firm of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA, practicing primarily construction law out of the firm's Charleston office.
In August of 2005, Mr. Kirchner joined long-time friends Paul Thurmond and Michael Timbes in forming the South Carolina law firm of Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A., located in the historic district of downtown Charleston, SC. Mr. Kirchner serves as managing partner and is the lead civil litigation and construction attorney at the firm. His successful trial work-resulting in multi-million dollar settlements -has positioned Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes as a leading firm for civil and construction litigation cases. He was named Super Lawyer and Top Forty Lawyers Under Forty by the National Trial Lawyers Association.
Mr. Kirchner and his wife, Lenna Shirley Kirchner, of Honea Path, South Carolina, live on James Island and have a daughter and son.
Johnny J. Evans grew up in Walterboro, SC. He graduated from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 1993 where he was a member of the Honor Court. Mr. Evans earned his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from the Charleston School of Law in 2015 and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Summerville Orchestra.
Mr. Evans will focus on criminal defense. He spent nearly the last two decades as a law enforcement officer in the State of South Carolina where he worked a variety of cases from simple traffic tickets to homicides and simple narcotics possession to federal wiretap investigations.
Lindsey joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A., in the fall of 2018 and serves as the Director of Marketing. A graduate of The University of Alabama, she has been in the marketing and public relations field for 10 years. She now resides in Mount Pleasant with her husband and two Goldendoodles. In her free time, she enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.
Melanie joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A., in 2023 as an Administrative Assistant in the Summerville Office. She was born and raised in Lexington, South Carolina. Prior to joining Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A., she was a real estate agent. Melanie loves living in Summerville with her husband, two children, and two chihuahuas. She enjoys being outside and traveling.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Co - Founder
- Lead Counsel
Paul Thurmond was born in Greenwood, S.C., the youngest son of Senator Strom Thurmond and Nancy Moore Thurmond. A native of Aiken, South Carolina, Paul Thurmond graduated from Aiken High School and earned an athletic scholarship to Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, Thurmond was a four-year letterman on the tennis team, achieving national ranking and serving as team captain his senior year. Every year eligible, Thurmond also received Academic All-SEC honors.
Upon graduation from Vanderbilt, Thurmond worked in Washington, D.C. for Republican Senator Fred Thompson on the Governmental Affairs Committee, the watchdog group for all federal government programs. Upon returning to South Carolina, Thurmond worked on the House Judiciary Committee under Chairman Jim Harrison and was appointed head law clerk.
Thurmond received his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law and was elected Chairman of the Honor Council by his peers while in law school. Upon graduation, Thurmond worked for three years as an Assistant Solicitor in Charleston County, prosecuting violent gun crimes. During that time, he handled more than 1,300 criminal indictments, ranging from minor infractions to murder. Mr. Thurmond has successfully handled numerous trials, leaving the Solicitor's Office with a 92 percent conviction rate.
In August of 2005, Mr. Thurmond joined long-time friends Jesse Kirchner and Michael Timbes in forming the law firm of Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A, located in the historic district of downtown Charleston.
From 2005 to 2006, he served as an adjunct professor at the College of Charleston, where he taught Mock Trial.
Mr. Thurmond, who handles both criminal and civil matters, leads the firm's criminal defense practice and has successfully defended large drug crime cases, federal white-collar crime cases, and murder cases, in addition to numerous other criminal offenses.
In November 2006, Mr. Thurmond was elected to serve on Charleston County Council by nearly 60 percent of the vote. He was elected Vice-Chairman in 2009. In this position, he represented approximately 35,000 constituents in Charleston County.
In December of 2010, Mr. Thurmond accepted the job as a part-time prosecutor for the City of North Charleston, predominantly handling DUI cases. This work gave him the unique opportunity to review hundreds of DUI cases, along with continuing to hone his trial skills. During his time as a municipal prosecutor, Mr. Thurmond tried numerous cases and disposed of nearly 800 DUI cases. Mr. Thurmond also assisted the City of North Charleston Police Department as an instructor for DUI arrest procedures.
After running the most competitive race for State Senate in South Carolina, Mr. Thurmond was elected as a State Senator representing District 41 in November 2012. He represented over 100,000 constituents covering both Charleston and parts of Dorchester County. He held this office until November 2016, when he decided to focus exclusively on his law practice and family and chose not to seek re-election.
The Town of Mount Pleasant Council unanimously appointed Mr. Thurmond to serve a two-year term as a Judge for the Municipal Court of Mount Pleasant and he assumed office on January 1, 2019. He was subsequently reappointed in December 2020.
He and his wife, Katie England Thurmond, of Walhalla, South Carolina, live in Mount Pleasant, SC, and have three sons and two daughters. The Thurmond family are members of East Cooper Baptist Church. Mr. Thurmond is also active in other areas of the community. He serves on the Aviation Authority for Charleston County, is a member of the board of Turning Leaf, a non-profit that assists with those recently released from prison, and is a board member of the Roper St. Francis Innovation Board.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Partner
- Member of the Board of the St. George Development Corporation
- Solicitor for Dorchester County
Robert D. "Robby" Robbins was born in Charleston, S.C. A native of St. George, South Carolina, Robby was the Valedictorian of the Dorchester Academy class of 1980.
He obtained his Bachelor's of Science degree in Political Science from the University of South Carolina in 1984 and also obtained his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he graduated in 1987.
Upon graduation from law school, Robby returned to his home town of St. George and joined the practice of attorney Jim Bell. He later became a partner in the firm of Bell and Robbins. During this time he helped shape policies for the South Carolina Young Lawyers Division as its First Circuit Representative.
Samantha moved to Charleston from Columbia, South Carolina for school and never moved back. She graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the College of Charleston and has spent the majority of her professional career in legal management. She currently resides on James Island with her husband, two young daughters, and Yorkie. In her free time she enjoys being outside, especially gardening, hiking, and combing the beach for shark teeth.
Job Titles:
- Paralegal to Jesse a. Kirchner
Sandra is originally from Sumter, South Carolina, and grew up in Charleston. She received her Associates of Applied Science Degree in Paralegal Studies and has a wealth of experience in construction defect litigation. Sandra joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A. as a paralegal to the construction defect litigation team.
She has been married to her husband for more than 30 years, and they have three children. Sandra enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music, and visiting Disney!
Sarah D. Baum was born and raised in New York. Sarah received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a minor in Finance from Hartwick College in 2013. After graduation, Sarah worked in Manufacturing and Sourcing at a large fashion company in New York City. Sarah then went on to earn her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Albany Law School in New York State in 2018. While at Albany Law School, she was an Associate Board Member on the Moot Court Executive Board and was an Associate Editor for the Albany Law Review. Sarah was admitted to practice law in New York in 2019 and in South Carolina in 2020. She is an active member of the South Carolina Bar Association.
Sarah joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes after refining her courtroom advocacy skills during her time practicing primarily general civil litigation, commercial litigation disputes, personal injury law, and public employment law matters.
As an associate attorney, Sarah's practice is focused on helping clients with their civil and business litigation needs. Sarah is admitted to practice before all South Carolina State courts.
Education
J.D. Albany Law School - Graduate School 2018
B.S. Hartwick College - College 2013
Practice Areas
Business Law
Job Titles:
- Paralegal to Robert D. Robbins
Scout joined Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes in September 2019 as a Criminal Defense Paralegal in the Summerville Office to attorneys Robert D. Robbins and Johnny J. Evans. She graduated from Trident Technical College with a Paralegal Associate's Degree. Prior to joining Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, she worked at the First Circuit Solicitor's Office as a paralegal and Berkeley County Clerk of Court's Office as a Court Clerk. Scout loves being with her silver lab, going on the boat, shopping, and spending time with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Paralegal to Jesse a. Kirchner
Shannon graduated from the College of Charleston and has been a Paralegal for 15 years. She is a Paralegal for Jesse A. Kirchner on the Construction Defect Litigation team and has been at Thurmond Kirchner & Timbes, P.A. for nearly 12 years. Shannon is married with two sons. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, boating, and reading.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Partner
- Member of the South Carolina Bar Association
Thomas is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association and the Charleston County Bar Association and has also served as an adjunct professor at the Charleston School of Law. Thomas is admitted to practice in all trial and appellate courts in South Carolina, the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, and the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.