As a political heavy-hitter in South Carolina’s Republican Party, Kevin Hall is well-known as the go-to attorney for the state’s leading political figures.  Kevin’s client list reads like a who’s who of South Carolina’s luminary politicians, including Senator Lyndsey Graham, Senator Tim Scott, former ambassador Nikki Haley, former Gov. Mark Sanford, and the South Carolina Republican Party itself. 

In this candid and at-times personal conversation about values, politics, and the real-life impact of discriminatory laws, Kevin shares with TendingBar the story of the coalition he led to overturn South Carolina’s “No Promo Homo” law, which forbade virtually all K-12 classroom discussion regarding same-sex relations and which effectively stigmatized LGBTQ students and teachers across the state.  

As a lifelong Republican in conservative South Carolina, Kevin might have seemed like an unlikely champion for LGBTQ equality.  Having developed a reputation as the state’s leading political attorney, Kevin was, however, well-positioned to work within his party toward change.  Building upon the trust earned over decades of service to the South Carolina Republican Party, Kevin built an unlikely partnership that included the state’s Attorney General and the statewide school superintendent.  Together, they worked to overturn South Carolina’s “no promo homo” statute, ultimately leading a federal court in Charleston to declare the law unconstitutional.

Key Topics (minute:second)

5:12: Lawyering for political heavyweights in South Carolina

7:05: The Origins of South Carolina’s Anti-LGBTQ Curriculum Statute – the “No Promo Homo” Law

11:10: “As bad as it gets” – How discriminatory laws impact both students and teachers

19:05: Kevin’s Personal Story

24:45: Crafting an unlikely, collaborative litigation strategy

32:35: The Courage to Fight Unpopular Battles

39:07:  Remembering the higher purposes of the profession

About Kevin Hall

Kevin is a practicing attorney at Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP and is Managing Partner of the firm’s office in Columbia, South Carolina.  A litigator with 30 years’ experience, Kevin has represented Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation and elected officials facing ethics charges, criminal prosecution, and/or impeachment and removal from political office.  One of South Carolina’s most prominent lawyers, Kevin practices at the intersection of law, business, politics and public policy.