Jessica W. Laffitte

Partner

Biography

Jessica W. Laffitte is a partner in the firm’s Columbia, South Carolina, office. She focuses her practice on a range of litigation matters primarily related to professional negligence, insurance coverage issues, transportation and business and commercial litigation. She devotes a large portion of her professional liability practice to healthcare issues and dental and medical malpractice matters. These matters often concern issues related to trust account maintenance, informed consent, wrongful extraction and failure to diagnose. In addition to these matters, Jessica handles nursing home issues CMS survey appeals and regulatory matters.

Jessica also devotes a significant amount of time to transportation, advising and defending insurers, self-insured corporations and third-party risk managers on complex litigation matters involving tort liability and risk management issues.

Additionally, she regularly advises clients on insurance coverage issues with a particular emphasis on the existence and scope of coverage for a variety of claims including commercial first-party policies, declaratory judgment litigation and bad faith litigation. Jessica’s business and commercial litigation experience encompasses a wide range of topics that are often related to:

  • Financial services agreements
  • Commercial property disputes
  • Contract litigation
  • Construction defect litigation of large and small residential projects

Jessica’s previous clerkship with the Honorable John W. Kittredge at the Supreme Court of South Carolina provided her invaluable appellate analysis and advocacy skills that she now implements while handling various appeals for clients.  Jessica is a member of the Supreme Court of South Carolina’s Commission on CLE and Specialization.

Jessica is dedicated to exceeding the expectations of her clients and believes that consistent and reliable communication with the client is imperative to the success of a matter. It is her goal to provide a high level of communication with competent legal advice in order to attain the highest level of client satisfaction.

Education

University of South Carolina

B.A. (2008)

Charleston School of Law

J.D. (2011)

Bar Admissions

  • South Carolina Bar
  • United States District Court for the District of South Carolina

Associations & Professional Memberships

  • Defense Research Institute (DRI), The Voice of the Defense Bar
  • Richland County Bar, Young Lawyers Division, Co-Chair
  • South Carolina Bar, Young Lawyers Division (YLD)
  • South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association (SCDTAA), Board Member
  • Supreme Court of South Carolina, Commission on CLE and Specialization, Member

Honors & Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants (2021-2024)
  • CALI Excellence for the Future Awards
    • Legal Research & Writing
    • Contracts I
    • Contracts II
    • Civil Procedure II
    • Equity
  • Federal Courts Law Review, Publications Editor
  • Legal Elite of the Midlands- Insurance (2022)
  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association (SCDTAA), Emerging Leader

Community Involvement

  • Downtown Columbia YMCA, Board of Directors, Former Chair
  • Junior League of Columbia (2011-2015)
  • The Palladium Society, Historic Columbia, Member

News & Articles

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