Jon E. Ozmint, Esq.

Practice Areas

• Professional Liability
• Public Policy

Education

Bar & Court Admissions

• South Carolina
• Alabama
• U.S. Court of Military Appeals
• U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court

News

• Jon Ozmint Keynote Speaker at Columbia International University’s Prison Initiative Commencement
• Collins & Lacy Announces Growth of Public Policy Practice
• Former S.C. Department of Corrections Director, Jon Ozmint, Joins Collins & Lacy, P.C.

Jon E. Ozmint is a shareholder at Collins & Lacy focusing in governmental and regulatory affairs, consulting and crisis management at the federal, state and local levels. Jon’s practice also includes employment-related issues, professional liability, professional/occupational licensing representation, white collar criminal defense and complex litigation. Ozmint is the former director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), former Deputy Attorney General and Chief Prosecutor of the State Grand Jury and former General Counsel for the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. As head of the SCDC, Jon spent eight years managing nearly 6,000 employees in one of the toughest budget cycles in state history.  He concluded his service as the fifth longest serving prison director in the country. As a current member of the Sentencing Reform Oversight Commission, Jon is often called upon to share his expertise on the criminal justice system and operational cost savings, in states across the country.  Before serving as director of South Carolina prisons, Jon prosecuted cases for the State Grand Jury. Jon has spent more than 20 years investigating and prosecuting complex and large corruption and conspiracy cases, setting policy,  establishing strategy, managing and communicating during all types of crises, successfully leading personnel, negotiations, and communications during natural disasters,  hostage takings and other emergencies. Jon’s judgment, poise and strategic abilities have been tested in situations faced by few others. Jon couples his experience and contacts with extensive knowledge of our elected branches, our courts and our legal and political climate to provide practical, cost-effective solutions for his clients. Jon is a Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, serving as Reserve Legislative Counsel, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Readiness and Logistics. He has served as chairman of the Staff Safety Committee for the American Correctional Association and of the Legal, Legislative and Policy Committee of the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA). He led ASCA’s national fight for cell phone interdiction technology and was instrumental in representing the association in negotiations on, and public and policy responses to, the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Jon has testified numerous times in the South Carolina State House, on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., and in other states across the nation. He has served on various boards and commissions, including the South Carolina Sentencing Reform Commission, the South Carolina Sentencing Reform Oversight Commission and six years on the Oliver Gospel Mission Board of Directors. Jon is licensed to practice in South Carolina and Alabama and in federal courts at every level. In 2011, Jon received the state’s highest honor, the Order of the Palmetto, which recognized his achievements and contributions to the state of South Carolina. Click here for a more detailed account of Jon Ozmint’s life, mission and dedicated service to South Carolina.

Awards and Recognition

• 2011 Order of the Palmetto Honoree

Professional, Civic and Community Involvement

• SC Business and Industry Political Education Committee
• South Carolina Sentencing Reform Oversight Commission
• Former Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections
• American Correctional Association
  • Past Chair, Staff Safety Committee
• Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA), Associate Member
  • Past Chair, Staff Safety Committee
  • Past Chair, Legal, Legislative and Policy Committee
• Reserve Legislative Affairs Counsel to the Chief of Naval Operations, Readiness and Logistics, Washington, D.C.
• Former Chief General Counsel for the SC Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation (LLR)
• Former Member, Sentencing Reform Commission
• Former Member and Vice Chair of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council
• Former Deputy Attorney General and Chief Prosecutor for the State Grand Jury, (1994 – 2000)
• Former Reserve Administrative Law Attorney, Office of the Judge Advocate General,  Washington D.C. 
• Defense Research Institute
• International Society of Primerus Law Firms
• South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association

Practicing: Professional Liability and Public Policy