[COLUMBIA, S.C., December 2, 2010] – Collins & Lacy founding partner, Joel Collins, is hoping to help nurture young minds at Wofford College with the creation of the Edward K. Hardin III Prelaw Society. The Inaugural Banquet was held Tuesday night in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Edward Hardin was a 1932 graduate of Wofford College, a former school teacher and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. A native of Chester, Hardin practiced law for 25 years and later served as Probate Judge of Chester County for 17 years.
Hardin set the standard for Wofford graduates to follow in many ways. He was a lifelong learner and devoted alumnus who gave sacrificially to all Wofford programs. Hardin served 12 years on the Wofford College Board of Trustees, which he also chaired. He twice received the Wofford College’s Distinguished Service Award. With the creation of this prelaw society, Judge Hardin’s generosity of heart and spirit will continue to live on in Wofford students who aspire to become members of the profession to which Hardin devoted his life.
This isn’t the first time Collins has gotten into the ring to help budding lawyers. In the fall of 2003, Collins made a generous gift to found a society to serve the needs and interests of prelaw students at Clemson University. The prelaw society was named in honor of William T. Howell of Walterboro, a retired chief judge of the S.C. Court of Appeals, and now chief mediator for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Being a prelaw student at Clemson wasn’t always a well-marked highway. Collins recalls that as a student he did not know exactly which courses to take to prepare him for law school, nor did he know where to sign up for the Law School Aptitude Test or how to make important contacts.
At the inaugural banquet Tuesday night, Collins joined forces again with Clemson University’s Dr. Katherine Hawkins to kick off Wofford’s prelaw society. Hawkins, a Communications Specialist at Clemson, has been integral in the success of Clemson’s prelaw society.
Back in 2005, a writer with the Clemson publication, Clemson World On Line said that “Collins is a tireless champion for the success of Clemson students who want to go to law school.” Now his reach has expanded to help students at another fine institution, Wofford College.
