Wallace K. Lightsey

Wallace is an experienced trial attorney, with well over 50 jury trials in his career. He has argued numerous appeals in the South Carolina appellate courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He has a diverse litigation practice involving complex securities, corporate, and intellectual property cases, as well as news media and First Amendment disputes. In the area of First Amendment litigation, he has represented Time Inc., The New York Times Company, The Associated Press, and Pulitzer Broadcasting, as well as local news media including The Greenville News, The Spartanburg Herald, WYFF TV, WHNS TV, WSPA TV, and other newspapers around South Carolina. He also has an active practice litigating disputes over intellectual property -- such as trademark, copyright, and trade secrets -- and in recent years has been lead counsel in copyright lawsuits involving close to a billion dollars at issue. In 2004, he was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers, an organization composed of a small percentage of the best trial attorneys in the U.S. and Canada.

Building on his substantial trial and courtroom experience, Wallace has been certified by the American Arbitration Association to its Roster of Neutrals for commercial arbitration, and has served as panel chair, panel member, and sole arbitrator in a number of arbitrations involving large, complex disputes as well as relatively simple ones.  Unlike many judges, Wallace likes helping to resolve discovery disputes and is available for appointment as a special discovery master in lawsuits where the parties anticipate having to deal with difficult discovery matters.