Event Information

 Mark Knight is a member of Nexsen Pruet, LLC, where he has practiced his entire law career, having joined the firm in 1980 as a law clerk and 1981 as a lawyer.  Mark graduated summa cum laude from Furman University in 1978 and cum laude from U of SC law school in 1981.  Mark has lived in Columbia for almost all of his life, attending the Richland 1 public schools.  Mark's practice focuses on corporate and securities matters, especially M&A transactions and private placements of securities.  Mark has been awarded multiple "Lawyer of the Year" distinctions by Best Lawyers and "Band 1" rankings by Chambers & Partners in M&A, securities, and related practices for the State of South Carolina.  Mark's practice also includes commercial agreements, IP licenses, franchises, and corporate and LLC formations and reorganizations, among other corporate matters.  Mark and his wife, Pam, live in Columbia.  They have 2 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, and 4 grandchildren.  They enjoy camping and scuba diving, and have been involved in several house-church initiatives

• University of South Carolina, J.D., 2009
• The Citadel, B.S., 2006

• South Carolina, 2009

• Columbia Business Monthly's "Best & Brightest 35 and Under" 2017
• Order of the Coif

Sheila Willis is a Partner in the Columbia office and Co-Chair of the Firm’s Affirmative Action and Federal Contract Compliance Practice Group. She is committed to finding practical, real world solutions to her clients’ employment law needs. She represents companies—large and small—as they navigate employment issues related to hiring, discipline, investigations, employment discrimination, unemployment, and other related issues. Sheila provides guidance to higher education institutions on Title IX Compliance and investigations  She has extensive experience providing compliance advice to federal contractors on affirmative action and OFCCP regulations and audits.  Sheila also has extensive experience working on collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and class actions under wage and hour state laws. Sheila also provides training for supervisors and managers on harassment, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) compliance, the Family Medical Leave Act, diversity and inclusion, and many other areas. 

Sheila is involved in various professional and community activities. She is a past president of both the South Carolina Women Lawyers’ Association (SCWLA) and the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers (SCYLD) Division. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Columbia – Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the board of the National Conference of Women’s’ Bar Associations.  Sheila is active in the Richland County Bar, American Bar Association, and is a member of the Junior League of Columbia. 

Prior to attending law school, Sheila was a member of store leadership for a Fortune 500 retail company, providing employee supervision and managing a variety of employee issues related to wage and hour, workers’ compensation, discrimination issues, performance management, and other personnel issues. 

Sheila is a 2019 recipient of the Silver Compleat lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law Alumni Association. This award recognizes alumni who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and who exemplify the highest standard of professional competence, ethics, and integrity. 

She has also been named to the Columbia Regional Business Report’s list of 2018 Women of Influence, Columbia Business Monthly’s 2018 Best and Brightest 35 and Under,  Columbia Business Monthly’s Legal Elite of the Midlands in 2017 and the  American Bar Association’s  On the Rise – Top 40 under 40 in 2018.  She is also a 2018 South Carolina Super Lawyers – Rising Star and a 2019 recipient of the Leadership in the Law award.   She was awarded the Johnathon Jasper Wright Award by The Honorable Matthew J. Perry Chapter of the Black Law Students Association at the University of South Carolina School of Law, is a three-time recipient of the President’s Award a and a four-time recipient of the Start of the Quarter award from the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers’ Division.

• Structured and negotiated multimillion-dollar sales and acquisitions of stock and assets of ongoing businesses, including representing certain members of a business' management team in a $20+ million dollar acquisition of the equity of the managed business.
• Structured and negotiated mergers, split-ups, split-offs, and spin-offs that utilized various non-recognition provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, including representing a group of sellers in connection with a multi-step reorganization and sale of a portion of the equity of their existing business at a valuation in excess of $55 million.
• Represented borrowers in the negotiation and closing of various secured credit facilities, including a $125 million credit facility financed by private equity and supported by tax incentives and $50 million credit facility to finance a dividend recapitalization of the borrower.
• Represented executive to determine the excise tax consequences of severance payments made upon a change in control of employer and negotiated settlement of claims for severance payments based in part on the same.