SC Gov. Names Agency Director

Templeton is Haley's second cabinet appointment, and must be confirmed by the state Senate.

Templeton practices primarily in the areas of labor and employment, with emphasis on litigation.

Prior to law school, Templeton served as a Human Resources Manager at Milliken & Company. While at the University of South Carolina (USC), Templeton served on the Honor Council and as the Associate Editor of the American Bar Association Real Property, Probate & Trust Journal. Before joining Ogletree Deakins, she worked for the Director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation for three years, where she is credited with drafting the South Carolina Trade Secrets Act and was instrumental in numerous other pending labor bills, including Right to Work and covenants not to compete.

Templeton has been involved in union avoidance for the past 14 years. She has extensive experience in national labor campaigns against the UAW, IBEW and Teamsters. In fact, her first campaign was the most notorious UAW campaign in decades. She is currently on Ogletree's EFCA Team providing extensive training throughout the country on the Employee Free Choice Act. In addition to her experience with the larger and older labor unions, she has specific knowledge about the various labor organizations actively targeting the healthcare industry.

Templeton also specializes in trial work. She represents health care systems and corporate management and has successfully adjudicated both federal and state employment, personal injury, complex nursing home/professional liability, and FLSA collective action cases.

Templeton was recently selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America. She also was selected as a recipient of the Compleat Lawyer Award, an honor given by the University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association. This award is given to alumni who have extraordinarily high standards of professional competence, ethics, integrity, and who have demonstrated superior performance in their professional career.

Templeton was also recently invited by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice (Ret.) Sandra Day O'Connor to act as one of two National Coordinators for her Our Courts / iCivics project. This project was created to ensure that students nationwide have the tools they need to become informed civic participants and wise civic leaders.

Honors/Awards:
2009 Best Lawyers in America recipient
2010 Compleat Lawyer Award recipient
Our Courts / iCivics, Inc. - National Coordinator

Education:
J.D., University of South Carolina School of Law, 1998
B.A., Wofford College, 1993

Admitted to Practice:
North Carolina,1998
South Carolina, 1999
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Activities:
South Carolina Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association, Charleston County Bar Association, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association (Board Member), International Association of Defense Counsel (Co-Chair –Employment Law Committee), Defense Research Institute

Share This Article: