Lang writes about lawyer-legislator protection in South Carolina Lawyer
Louis Lang, a member of Callison Tighe, has written an opinion piece in the March 2014 edition of South Carolina Lawyer magazine.
The Viewpoint article examines protections that shield attorneys who serve as state legislators from making court appearances while the Legislature is in session and for 30 days after. This protection lasted seven months in 2013, Lang wrote.
While this protection might work well for clients represented by lawyer-legislators – “they may be perfectly happy to let the case sit for six or seven months out of the year,” Lang wrote – it doesn’t work for the other side.
“Lawyer-legislator protection can deny the non-lawyer-legislator clients access to our courts for at least half of every year the case is pending, “ Lang wrote. “There can be no trial, no motion hearings, emergency hearings and little discovery. Unless the lawyer-legislator side consents, virtually nothing can be done to move the case along to resolution for six months of the year.”
Lang’s practice at Callison Tighe focuses on litigation and federal criminal defense.
The full South Caroline Lawyer article is accessible online. The magazine is published six times a year by the South Carolina Bar.