A native of Cayce, South Carolina, Ellen received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Ellen’s career spans more than 30 years at Collins & Lacy and has involved more than 1,000 cases. Her reputation has earned her an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell.. Ellen has repeatedly been named one of US News’ Best Lawyers in America©, and has been named a Midlands Legal Elite in the area of workers’ compensation by Greater Columbia Business Monthly.
In her Workers’ Compensation practice, Ellen defends self-insured and uninsured employers and workers’ compensation insurance carriers and has argued cases to the Full Workers’ Compensation Commission, Circuit Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Additionally, Ellen is experienced in general litigation and professional liability and has defended medical technicians, nurses, and chiropractors in professional negligence claims involving medical malpractice.
As a Certified Circuit Court Mediator, Ellen now devotes much of her time to mediating pre-trial workers’ compensation issues. She is the first female from South Carolina to be selected for membership into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN), America’s largest professional association of top-tier neutrals. NADN is an invitation-only association whose members have been “thoroughly reviewed and found to meet stringent practice criteria and are among the most in-demand neutrals in their respective states.”
Click here to view Ellen’s NADN profile and to request a mediation date, or click on a date from the calendar below. (Both calendars are in sync and reflect the same availability.)
Bar & Court Admissions
- South Carolina
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- S.C. Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification, approved Circuit Court Mediator
Awards & Recognition
Professional, Civic, & Community Involvement
- South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association
- The Claims and Litigation Management Alliance
- South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys' Association
- Defense Research Institute
- South Carolina Bar
- Richland County Bar Association
- International Society of Primerus Law Firms
- National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
Papers & Publications
- "Just in Time for the New Year: 2019 SC Max Comp Rate Announced," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, December 2018
- "Legal Alert: A New Opinion in Clemmons v. Lowe's Home Center and the Law of Unintended Consequences," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, June 2017
- "Commission Adopts Administrative Order to Implement Electronic Payment of Compensation," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, June 2017
- "Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones but Names Will Never...Settle Cases?" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, May 2015
- "Tension Between Form 21 Hearings and the Mediation Statute," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, November 2014
- "New 2% Net Present Value Rate is Now Effective," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, June 2014
- "Updated Settlement Conference Procedures," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, August 2013
- "Greg Line Announces His Retirement from the SCWCC," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, June 2013
- "One Step Closer - Joint Resolution adopted for Mediation Regulations," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 2013
- "What's Your Dream? Two Perspectives on a Recent S.C. Supreme Court Comp Ruling," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, October 2012
- "SCWCEA Updates: One Day Seminar, Mediation, and Court of Appeals," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, June 2012
- "SCWCC Updates: Oral Arguments, Mediation, and Employee of the Year," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, May 2012
- "A New Face at the Commission," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, May 2012
- "One Step Closer," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, April 2012
- "Senate Committee Taking Steps Toward McCaskill Confirmation," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, February 2012
- "The Month of Lists: Top 10 Workers' Compensation Decisions in 2011," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, January 2012
- "Founding Partner Honored with the Lifetime Service Award," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, October 2011
- "Survey Results: Are Workers' Compensation Lawyers 'Special?'" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, September 2011
- "Are Workers' Compensation Lawyers 'Special?'" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, August 2011
- "Keeping Your Business Safe: Securing Your Bottom Line by Avoiding Litigation," Workers' Compensation Prevention Measures, South Carolina National Safety Council Seminar, August 2011
- "Back to Basics: A Quick Guide to Workers’ Compensation in South Carolina," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 2011
- Sanctions, Pleadings, Appeals, and Medical Under the Revised Workers’ Comp Act, SC Bar, September 2007
- Should I Depose the Doctor and What Should I Ask?, SC Workers' Compensation Section of the SC Bar, July, 2006
- Note, Undisclosed Recordings of Conversations by Private Attorneys, South Carolina Law Review, 1991
Speaking Engagements
- "A Defense Attorney's Process for Settling a Claim," April 7, 2016 Injured Workers' Advocates Spring Seminar
- Attorney Ellen Adams to Present at the SC Bar CLE Workers' Compensation Seminar, September 13, 2013, Current Issues in Workers' Compensation Practice in South Carolina
- Ellen Adams to Speak at IROPS Conference, November 13, 2009, The New Nurse Case Management Regulations