Columbia Attorney
Ellen M. Adams

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.)

Practice Areas

• Mediation
• Workers’ Compensation

Education

• University of South Carolina School of Law, Juris Doctor
  • Order of the Wig and Robe
  • South Carolina Law Review
• University of South Carolina, B.S. Business Administration, Concentration in Marketing & Economics
  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity

Bar and 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 and Recognition

• Leadership in Law (2019)
• Best Lawyers© (2009-2019)
• Midlands Legal Elite (2012)
• AV Preeminent Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

Professional, Civic, and 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 and Publications

• “New 2% Net Present Value Rate is Now Effective,” South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law Blog, June 2014
• “What’s Your Dream? Two Perspectives on a Recent S.C. Supreme Court Comp Ruling,” South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law Blog, October 2012
• “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