About Stanford Lacy
Stan Lacy co-founded Collins & Lacy, P.C. in 1984. He has devoted his practice to workers’ compensation defense and is also a certified South Carolina Circuit Court Mediator. Stan practiced law for over 40 years and practiced exclusively in Workers’ Compensation law for more than 35 years. His legal career includes arguing many landmark cases to the Supreme Court, managing appeals to all appellate court levels, and working on industry-changing legislation on behalf of South Carolina. In 1991, former Governor Carroll Campbell appointed Stan to the Advisory Committee for the Improvement of Workers’ Compensation Laws in South Carolina where he worked with the legislature to review and revise legislation affecting the state’s workers’ compensation system. Stan “retired” in 2017 but he still comes to the office to mentor associates and to administer his vigorous mediation practice.
Stan graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1967. While at the University of Virginia, he served as President of the Engineering School, President of Sigma Pi Fraternity, and was a member of the Trigon Society. He then served four years in the United States Air Force, became a captain, and was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his work on the Vietnamization of the war in Southeast Asia. He also received the Vietnam Service Medal and the National Defense Ribbon. In 1974, Stan earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He began teaching workers’ compensation as an adjunct instructor at the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1981 and has continued to teach ever since. He also frequently conducts workshops on compensation laws for clients and businesses. Stan also contributes timely and relevant posts to the Collins & Lacy Workers’ Compensation Lawl Blog and the national Workers’ Compensation Law Prof Blog.
Stan is considered by his peers to be one of South Carolina’s pre-eminent attorneys according to Martindale-Hubbell and is consistently selected to be included in South Carolina Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America, two of the oldest and most respected peer-review publications in the legal profession. In 2012, Best Lawyers named Stan as the “Columbia, SC Best Lawyers Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers Lawyer of the Year”. The “Lawyer of the Year” is a designation awarded within high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.” Stan was also the Platinum recipient of the 2016 Compleat Lawyer Award, given by the University of South Carolina School of Law. Recently, an Inn of Court was established by the workers’ compensation bar who honored him by naming the chapter “The Stanford E. Lacy Workers’ Compensation Inn of Court.”
Bar & Court Admissions
- South Carolina
- South Carolina Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
- U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
- U.S. Supreme Court
- S.C. Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification, approved Circuit Court Mediator
Awards & Recognition
- Platinum Compleat Lawyer Award, University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association (2016)
- 2015 Legal Elite of the Midlands
- Lifetime Service Award, South Carolina Workers' Compensation Educational Association (2012)
- Best Lawyers© (2005-2017)
- Best Lawyers Lawyer of the Year for Workers' Compensation & Employment Law in Columbia, SC (2012)
- South Carolina Super Lawyers® (2011-2018)
- Leadership in the Law Award, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly(2012)
- Boy Scouts of America
- Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award (2013)
- Silver Beaver Award (1995)
- District Award of Merit (1992)
Professional, Civic, & Community Involvement
- Richland County Bar Association
- South Carolina Bar
- South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association
- Board Member
- Past-President
- South Carolina Self-Insurers Association
- Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators
- International Society of Primerus Law Firms
- South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association
- South Carolina School of Law Adjunct Professor (1981-2014)
- Workers' Compensation Course
- Workers' Compensation Law Prof Blog
- Contributor
- Providence Hospitals Institutional Review Board (2014)
- Boy Scouts of America
- Cub Master, Pack 408 (1996-2001)
- District Chairman (1988-1992)
- Cub Master, Pack 2 (1983-1987)
- Church of the Cross Episcopal
- Senior Warden
- Junior Warden
- Mission Committee
- British Car Club Midlands Centre
- Vice president (2013)
- President (2014)
- Lake Murray Sailing Club
Papers & Publications
- "Another Year, a Higher Maximum Compensation Rate," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Blog, January 2017
- "There's a New Blog in Town," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, August 2016
- "Constitutional Rights vs. The Exclusive Remedy Doctrine," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, August 2016
- "Getting to 'Yes'!" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, May 2016
- "A Change in Direction for Change in Condition?" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, February 2016
- "It’s Time We Finally Do Something About §42-1-580," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, June 2015
- "The Pendulum We Know As Workers’ Compensation,"South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, April 2015
- "Down with the Case Law Update,"South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, September 2014
- "Commissioner Roche Has Resigned. What Now?" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, July 2014
- "In the Spotlight: A Tribute to Bill Griggs & the End of an Era," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, May 2014
- "South Carolina Supreme Court Addresses Physical Brain Damage," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 2013
- "Senate Judiciary Committee Attempts to Give Mediation Regulations Some Teeth," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 2013
- "When is a Contractor also the Subcontractor, and are both protected by the Exclusivity Doctrine?" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, September 2013
- "The Rules Governing Calculation of Commuted Values have Changed," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, April 2013
- "Workers' Comp Commission Scored Well in SC Bar Survey," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, April 2013
- "Ever Heard of the Advisory Committee?" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, January 2013
- "Only Two Prefiled S.C. Bills Directly Address Workers' Comp," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, January 2013
- "Beware of Fake Doctor Excuses," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, May 2012
- "§41-9-260 Does Not Prohibit Denying Compensability after 150 Days; But the Doctrines of Laches and Estoppel Can," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, January 2012
- "Workers' Comp Mediation is Just Around the Corner," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, January 2012
- "Who Pays the Benefits in Repetitive Trauma Claims?" South Carolina Workers' Compensation Blog, August 2011
- "How the Recession Affects Workers' Compensation," SC Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 25, 2011
- "Implants Soon to be in the Fee Schedule," SC Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 17, 2011
- "eCase is Easy!," SC Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 15, 2011
- "A Little About Me, More About My Partner, Mentor and Friend," South Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, March 2011
Speaking Engagements
- "Lessons to Learn After a Claim is Complete," South Carolina National Safety Council Seminar, "Keeping Your Business Safe: Securing Your Bottom Line by Avoiding Litigation," August 2011
- Founding Partner Stanford E. Lacy to present at the The Risk and Insurance Management Society's Southeastern Education Conference, October 6, 2010