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'Firsts' for chief justice |
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Wednesday, 26 September 2007 |
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Page 2 of 2
She would spend the next 20 years as a litigator, leaving Greenville for Columbia and Haynesworth for Belser, Baker, Barwick, Ravenel, Toal & Bender. In Columbia, Toal’s caseload became far more business and corporate law-oriented, and she entered a different realm.
Over the years she argued cases in South Carolina trial and appellate courts and in the U.S. District Court and the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and made an appearance as co-counsel before the U. S. Supreme Court.
For 13 of her 20 years a litigator, she also served as a member of the General Assembly, representing Richland County. There too, she managed to make history, becoming the first woman in South Carolina to chair a standing committee of the House of Representatives.
In 1989, just after competing her 20th year as a practicing lawyer, Toal became the first woman appointed to the South Carolina Supreme Court. She became chief justice on March 23, 2000.
“I think because I had been so active a litigator, the dimension I brought to the bench at the time was a working perspective on the modern practice,” she said.
“The challenge to being a long-time jurist is keeping up with how the actual practice of law changes over time. On the appellate level, you have to constantly remind yourself that the practice of law has changed considerably since you were practicing.”
While the attention Toal’s recent appointments garner is flattering, their real importance is how they move forward the initiatives she’s championed in the realm of technology implementation and enhanced, more business-like case management, she said.
“I think the main thing my involvement on this level will do is encourage larger states and others to reach out to smaller, more rural states and assist in their efforts to provide access to citizens to their courts,” she explained.
“The other thing is it gives us the kind of visibility that translates into additional grants and additional interest in South Carolina. It attracts the kind of resources and people we need to make our courts better.”
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