Susan “Susi” Pedrick McWilliams takes pride in legal career
By Shelia Watson, Contributing Writer

As a trial lawyer, it is second nature for Susan “Susi” Pedrick McWilliams to anticipate things: the opposing side’s arguments, how the jury might view certain evidence, whether a judge will allow her case to go to trial.

While being able to anticipate challenges has been a welcome trait for McWilliams in her work, she also has embraced a few unknowns during her career that turned out better than she expected.

 “I did not go to law school in South Carolina. I went to school in another state. So when my husband and I moved here, I had to take the bar exam in South Carolina,” she said. “I had this perception that my going to law school elsewhere would be a disadvantage, but that wasn’t the case at all. Other lawyers were very accepting and very supportive. That anticipation turned out not to be the hurdle I thought it would be. And the firm I work for has been nothing but supportive and encouraging from the beginning.”

McWilliams is a member and general counsel of Nexsen Pruet LLC, a 170-attorney law firm with offices in North and South Carolina. She has more than 25 years of courtroom experience as a trial lawyer defending individuals and corporations in employment, product liability, business torts, professional liability, contract and other commercial disputes.

McWilliams anticipated yet another challenge in balancing family life with practicing law.

“When I had my first child back in 1984, I didn’t know what to expect from the firm or from the legal community,” she said. “I didn’t know beforehand that I would have such strong feelings about my child and would want to work part-time. At one point, my son was sick and had to have surgery. I felt pulled in two, not wanting to disappoint the firm while obviously caring so much about my son. So I went in to quit, figuring there was no alternative, (but) the senior partner said, ‘Absolutely not.’”

The partner pointed to the then-new ability to be connected to the office with a computer at home.

“I was floored,” she said. “I really anticipated that he would dismiss me and figure women can’t cut it. But he and others in the firm have always been supportive. I later had two more children and in both cases worked part-time until I was ready to come back full-time. I have to say any success I’ve achieved I have to credit to the firm.”

McWilliams has been recognized for her years of practice. She is a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, a certified specialist in Labor and Employment Law by the S.C. Supreme Court, is listed in the Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers, and was appointed to the S.C. Ethics Commission by Gov. Mark Sanford, on which she now serves as chairwoman.

“I really enjoy what I do, especially in product liability defense,” she said. “It’s challenging because it’s very serious and means a lot to both sides. You have to believe in your client’s product and learn about how it’s designed and what steps it took to make it safe. I love doing that.

“One thing that trial work allows you to do is give the other side of the story, and I really enjoy telling that story to a jury. It’s very rewarding and an important part of the American system of jury trials.”

And is the inevitable lawyer joke something she anticipates?

“That never bothers me,” she laughed. “I’m proud to say I’m a lawyer.”