The SC Bar Foundation honors Karl A. Folkens of Folkens Law Firm, PA in Florence and Michael J. Howell, with the Law Office of Michael J. Howell, PA in Hilton Head, as the two newest members of the Justice Legacy. This giving category honors Foundation supporters who have given $10,000 or more in gifts over the course of their lifetime.

Folkens served as Foundation president in 2002. He was a strong advocate for Foundation grantees; in particular the legal services programs. He is Past Chair of the SC Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, and a former member of the Bar House of Delegates and the Supreme Court’s Joint Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution. Folkens is a former Municipal Court Judge with the Town of Timmonsville, former President of the Florence County Bar, has been appointed by the SC Supreme Court to be an Attorney to Protect Clients’ Interests and currently serves as Attorney to Assist Disciplinary Counsel. He also serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Winthrop University. 

Howell has also been a consistent supporter of the Foundation. He exemplifies leadership as a key giver among the Bar Board of Governors. Howell, who specializes in estate planning and probate law, has served in a number of capacities within the Bar including as a member of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, a member and past chair of the Professional Responsibility Committee and as a volunteer for the Bar’s Law School for Non-Lawyers program. He is a past member and secretary of the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization, past member and chair of the Commission’s Estate Planning and Probate Law Specialization Advisory Board and a charter member of the Hilton Head Council of Estate and Financial Advisors.

Both Folkens and Howell join long-time Bar and Bar Foundation supporter, Robert P. Wilkins, as the only three individual lawyers who have reached this distinguished level. Foundation President, John O. McDougall, said, “We are particularly pleased at the lifetime giving commitment of Karl, Michael and Bob Wilkins as Justice Legacy contributors. We appreciate the support of all of our donors and hope that, through these examples, we can encourage other Bar members to be a part of giving back to the profession.”