DuRant Distinguished Public Service Award

David A. Merline
David A. Merline, a prominent Greenville attorney, received the South Carolina Bar Foundation’s 2011 DuRant Distinguished Public Service Award for meritorious service to the law and the community. The annual recognition is the most prestigious statewide award members of the Bar can bestow on a fellow attorney. The award was presented during the S.C. Bar’s Annual Convention plenary luncheon on Friday, January 20, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

Merline is a shareholder with Merline & Meacham, PA; a firm he founded in 1970. He holds both his undergraduate degree and his law degree from the University of South Carolina. He is a Certified Specialist in both Tax Law and Estate Planning/Probate Law. He has been listed in Best Lawyers since 1987. In 2012, he is listed in the fields of Tax Law and Trusts and Estates Law. He has also been named the 2012 Tax Lawyer of Greenville, SC.

Merline served as the President of the South Carolina Bar from 1996 to 1997. In this position, he created a Task Force on Diversity and Inclusiveness. The results were impressive in bringing many more women and minorities to participate at all levels of Bar leadership. Not only has Merline been involved as a leader in the state bar, he also has been involved with the Greenville County Bar Association since 1968. In 1982, he served as the President.

Nationally, Merline participates as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the American College of Tax Counsel and the American Bar Association.  

Other legal related appointments include service as Chair of both the South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization and the SC Taxation Law Specialization Board. Merline has also served on the South Carolina Bar Foundation Board of Directors.
Merline has been active in the community as well. He has served as President of the SC Mental Health Association, the Rotary Club of Greenville, the Community Planning Council of Greenville as well as the Bon Secours St. Francis Health System Foundation. From 1990 to 1994, he served on the Board of Directors of the Clemson University Foundation.

Merline’s honors include being named as the Tommy Thomason award recipient in 2000 by the Greenville County Bar Association for maintaining the highest standards of professional and community service. He was the recipient of the Bell Ringer Distinguished Service award by the SC Mental Health Association and the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Clemson University Foundation. He also was honored as Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Greenville. He also served in the United States Marine Corps from 1956 to 1959.