Elizabeth Van Doren "Betsy" Gray
Betsy is an accomplished litigator, concentrating her practice on commercial litigation, probate and estate litigation, professional liability and ethics, and securities and FINRA. The second woman president of the South Carolina Bar, Betsy was awarded the 2016 Fellows Award presented by the National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP), an award recognizing the accomplishments of a past president of a bar association who has demonstrated a continuing commitment to leadership, service, the work of the organized bar and the purposes of the NCBP.
Betsy is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, American Bar Foundation and the Litigation Counsel of America, and is a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and the Chief Justice’s Commission on the Profession. Consistently recognized by Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and Chambers USA, Betsy has been the recipient of the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association Jean Galloway Bissell Award, and the TWIN Award from the Palmetto Center for Women.
She is a leader in the community, serving on the Board of Trustees for Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community and is a former board member for the University of South Carolina’s Educational Foundation.
ADMISSIONS
- South Carolina Bar
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
- U.S. Supreme Court
EDUCATION
- University of South Carolina, B.A., 1970
- University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1976
- Order of Wig and Robe
- South Carolina Law Review, Comments Editor
ASSOCIATIONS
- South Carolina Bar
- American Bar Association
- Richland County Bar Association
- South Carolina Women Lawyers Association
- John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court
- Defense Research Institute
OFFICES
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
- Member, Chief Justice’s Commission on the Profession
- Member, Chief Justice’s Commission on Lawyer Advertising
- Permanent Member, Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference
- United States Magistrate Merit Selection Panel (Chair, 2009)
- Past President of the South Carolina Bar
- Former Appointed Attorney to Assist the Disciplinary Counsel for the Supreme Court of South Carolina
- Former Chair, Statewide and Regional Citizens Advisory Committee of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission
AWARDS
- South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Hall of Fame (2018)
- DuRant Award, South Carolina Bar Foundation (2017)
- Women in the Law, Top Peer-Nominated Lawyers by Best Lawyers (2016)
- America's Top 100 Attorneys, South Carolina
- Columbia Business Monthly "Legal Elite" of the Midlands (2016, 2019)
- Fellows Award, National Conference of Bar Presidents (2016)
- Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, 2005-2020), Commercial Litigation
- Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, 2009-2020), Bet-the-Company Litigation, Columbia’s Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year (2009- 2018)
- Chambers U.S.A. America’s Leading Lawyers for Business (2007-2017)
- South Carolina “Super Lawyer” Business Litigation (2008-2018), Top 25 List (2008-2010, 2013-2015, 2017), Top 10 List (2009, 2013-2015, 2017-2018)
- Benchmark Litigation, Local Litigation Star (2009-2014, 2016)
- Selected as a Top Rated Lawyer in Commercial Litigation by Litigation Special Report (2012)
- Recipient, South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award (2010)
- Recipient, South Carolina Women Lawyers Association Jean Galloway Bissell Award (2000)
- Recipient, Compleat Lawyer Award Gold Medallion, USC Law School Alumni Association (1997)
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
- Panelist, “One Issue, Two Perspectives: Legal Malpractice in South Carolina,” Current Issues in Legal Malpractice, South Carolina Bar CLE, Columbia, South Carolina (December 2017)
- Co-Author, The Law of Legal Malpractice in South Carolina, South Carolina Bar, CLE Division (2017)
- “Who Can Stay and Who Must Go: The Tension Between Witness Sequestration and the Right of Crime Victims to Be Present,” 21 S.C. Law. 38 (March 2010)
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
- 20 Years Strong Service Project: Helping the community with legal advice
- Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce
- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
- Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community
- Board of Trustees, Chair (2017-2019)
- University of South Carolina Educational Foundation
- Board of Directors (2004-2010)
Columbia, South Carolina 29211
