Florence County Criminal Lawyers

Criminal law, federal courts, state courts, appeals, habeas.

Steve joined Cavanaugh & Thickens, LLC, in 2019. Before joining Cavanaugh & Thickens, LLC, Steve worked for over five years with the Fifth Circuit Public Defender in Columbia, South Carolina. At the public defender, Steve focused on defending individuals charged with serious and most serious violent crimes. During the past five years, Steve has defended nearly every type of crime on the books, including Murder and Felony DUI involving Death. Steve has successfully tried many criminal cases to verdict and is licensed to provide first-chair defense representation in death penalty cases.

During Steve’s tenure as a public defender, he was...

Mr. Milling is a litigator in both federal and state court handling civil litigation, corporate litigation, criminal defense, and white collar criminal defense.

John graduated from the University of South Carolina, School of Law in 2004, where he was the 2004 recipient of the Arthur B. Custy Tax Award. John joined Strom Law Firm, LLC in July of 2005. In his practice, John represents individuals in many types of civil litigation, including: class actions, (such as the SCE&G V.C. Summer Litigation, Graniteville train derailment, and Chinese Drywall), business litigation, personal injury litigation, including traumatic injury and nursing home neglect. John also assists those who are applying for Alcohol Beverage Licenses and represents parties who the Department of Revenue have proposed a suspension or revocation...

Admitted to the bar of:
The State of South Carolina
U.S. Federal District Court for the District of South Carolina
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Memberships:
American Bar Association
South Carolina Bar
South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Horry County Bar Association
American Association for Justice
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National College for DUI Defense
Myrtle Beach Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – Founding Member
National Rifle Association – Life Member
South Carolina State Constable Alliance
Southern States Police Benevolent Association
S.C. Concealed Weapons Instructors Association
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
South Carolina State Constable’s Alliance
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)

Activities:
Former Adjunct Professor at Horry-Georgetown Technical College
South Carolina Concealable Weapons Course Instructor
NRA...

Dan Kienker is from Hendersonville North Carolina, and graduated from the University of North Carolina-Asheville with a major in political science. Upon his graduation he entered the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant serving 26 years, and retiring with the rank of Full Colonel. His military career includes assignments to Germany, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Honduras, and Warsaw, Poland where he led a military contact team shortly after the fall of the former Soviet Union.
During his military career he was selected for Command of three combat rated Tactical Control...

My name is Elizabeth Franklin-Best and I am an attorney who focuses on criminal appellate law and federal criminal law. I started at the Richland County Public Defender’s office where I worked alongside some of the most passionate lawyers in this profession. Later, I worked at the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, Appellate Division where I studied and analyzed hundreds of different cases, and gained valuable experience arguing in the South Carolina Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. I spent 7 years as a partner in the law firm of Blume Franklin-Best & Young, LLC focused on capital...

It is my goal to give each case the attention to detail it needs. I will not take on new cases at the expense of existing clients. The reality is there are only so many hours in a week. If I take on hundreds cases, I have less time to spend on each case than if I take on 25. If you want an attorney that will give you the attention you deserve, that can speak to you without a lot of legal jargon, that’s down-to-earth, and enjoys helping people, then please call 843-970-2929.

** What is it like working with me? ** When working with me, what you see is what you get. I’ve been told that I have a strong personality. I am brutally honest, and I won’t sugar coat the facts. That means I’m not afraid to ask and answer the hard questions when working on your case. With that said, you should know that I’m still very approachable, non-judgmental and down to earth. In whatever situation my clients have found themselves in, I’m not here to judge or make them feel bad about themselves. My job is to...

EDUCATION The John Marshall School of Law, Chicago, Illinois
AND LICENSES: Juris Doctorate, 1991

Honors: Elected to 1989 American Leadership Conference, Washington, D.C.
The James Madison Distinguished Service Award, The Federalist Society of America

Activities: President, The Federation of Federalist Societies of Chicago Law Schools
President, The Federalist Society of The John Marshall School of Law
Contributing Writer - Editor, The Decisive Utterance

Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, 1984

Honors: Member of the National Philosophy Honor Society, Phi Sigma Tau

Attorney:
May, 2002 - Admitted to practice law in South Carolina
Present

November, 1991 - Admitted to practice law...

Former prosecutor A. Randolph "Randy" Hough has a strong background in criminal law. Before entering private practice, he served as a prosecutor for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina, handling numerous crimes ranging from drug trafficking to white-collar crimes to murder.

He also handled complex federal drug charges as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. Few other local defense lawyers can claim this extensive background in prosecuting crimes at both the state and federal level. Mr. Hough has defended cases in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, and is a member of the South Carolina Bar, United States District Court for...

In 2018, Matthew graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law, ranking fourth in his law school class. During his time in law school, Matthew served as an Associate Editor-in-Chief for the South Carolina Law Review, where he authored a published article entitled State of Fear: Domestic Violence in South Carolina. Matthew was also inducted into the Order of the Coif and received the 2018 John O. MacDougall Family Law Award. After graduating law school, Matthew spent two years serving as a law clerk to the Honorable John D. Geathers at the South Carolina Court of Appeals. Matthew joined Strom...

For over 30 years, I've been helping South Carolinians that have been accused of criminal and traffic offenses get their day in court. I graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law, then clerked for Pike County (Kentucky) Circuit Judges Baird Colleton and Charles Lowe in Kentucky. I was a public defender in Orangeburg, SC. - fighting for clients that otherwise would have been worked through the system and jailed due to plea bargaining. My reputation for getting my clients in front of a jury of their peers rather than letting the prosecutors pressure them into a plea helped me build my...

My practice areas primarily include domestic litigation and criminal defense law. Domestic litigation includes divorces, child custody, visitation and support issues, equitable distribution, step-parent adoptions and relocation cases. Criminal law includes defending felonies and misdemeanors ranging from Kidnapping to Driving Under the Influence to Traffic Citations in State, County, City and Municipal Courts.

Attorney Robert Sutton of the Sutton Law Firm in Myrtle Beach, SC, has been obtaining outstanding results for his DUI and criminal clients for over 30 years. His practice now focuses largely on DUI defense and he has earned a reputation for being the best DUI lawyer in Myrtle Beach, as evidenced by his client reviews. Through both negotiations and trial success, he has obtained excellent results in even the most difficult of cases. His superb 5 star client reviews are a testament to the personal attention, care, and thorough preparation he gives each case, as well as the results...

Alexandra “Ally” Benevento focuses her practice on state and federal criminal defense, civil rights and civil litigation. She has successfully represented thousands of individuals in state and federal courts. Alexandra is admitted to the South Carolina Bar, as well as the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. She has previously been admitted pro hac vice to, and successfully represented clients in numerous federal district courts across the country. She is a member of the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (SCACDL), the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), the South Carolina Association for Justice (SCAJ),...

I formed the Seibert Law Firm, LLC to give quality and attentive family law and criminal defense representation to those in need in the lowcountry with the service and dedication that we all deserve. I am a member of the South Carolina and Georgia Bar. After I graduated with honors from the University of Georgia, I attended Ave Maria School of Law where I was chosen to sit on the Moot Court Board. I was honored to serve as acting Law Clerk for Judge Reck in the Probate Court and 44th Circuit Court Family Division in Howell, Michigan. After graduating, I...

Trip was born and raised in Charleston, SC. He graduated from the College of Charleston (B.A., 1992) and from Golden Gate University School of Law in California (J.D., 1999). In 1998, Trip was selected into the Honors Program with the Department of Justice as a third year law student where he worked for the U.S. Attorneyâs Office in San Francisco and had the unique opportunity to prosecute cases in the drugs, guns and explosives unit. After graduation and upon passing the California Bar, Trip worked in the legal department of Siebel Systems, Inc. in Silicon Valley where he negotiated and managed...