Event Information

Greg English has been assisting clients with environmental compliance and litigation since joining Wyche, P.A., in 1992. He regularly appears before state and federal courts and in actions before administrative agencies, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the South Carolina Mining Commission, including over 60 jury and bench trials. Greg also taught Administrative Law for Clemson University’s Masters of Public Administration program for several semesters.

Greg graduated from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude) and Murray State University (summa cum laude). He has served on the Greenville County Board of Health and the South Carolina Commission on Consumer Affairs. Greg has been recognized as the Greenville Environmental Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” and listed in “Best Lawyers” from 2007 to present, in “Super Lawyers: from 2011 to present, and in Chambers USA from 2014 to present.

Jim advises lenders, investors, developers, and public and private companies in a broad range of complex real estate and economic development transactions. With a background that spans more than three decades, he helps clients navigate the development and acquisition of retail, industrial, and commercial properties.

Jim has a distinct understanding of state and local tax economic incentives that can help his clients find the right location and optimal benefit for their projects. He is also well-versed in real estate litigation, financing, leasing, tax-deferred exchanges, and contributions of properties.

Although Jim has practiced in the Upstate area for more than 20 years, his knowledge and experience extend throughout the southeastern market and across the nation.  He has been recognized by Chambers, Martindale-Hubbell, Super Lawyers, and Legal Elite on a number of occasions for Real Estate Law and was named the Greenville Real Estate “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers in 2013.

Jim earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University, magna cum laude, and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School. He is admitted to practice in South Carolina and Georgia.

Jay Hoodenpyl focuses his practice on advising clients in the areas of real estate development and commercial leasing. He represents developers, land owners, tenants in the leasing, acquisition, sale and development of a variety of commercial real estate projects, including shopping centers, industrial properties, and mixed used developments. He has represented one of the largest owners, developers, and managers of shopping malls in the United States in commercial real estate development and leasing. He has negotiated transactions with several of the largest department stores, more than a dozen chain restaurants and related franchises, and numerous owners and managers of mixed use and retail developments, along with national chains of quick-service restaurants.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Hoodenpyl graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, cum laude, and earned his juris doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is currently licensed in South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.

Josh Lonon leads the Wyche, P.A. Commercial Real Estate Practice Group as chair, its Economic Development and Tax Incentives Group as co-chair, and the firm’s Spartanburg, South Carolina office. He regularly serves as lead counsel for national and regional companies, both public and private, local and statewide developers, and higher education institutions and other non-profits, in the acquisition, development, financing, sale, and leasing of commercial properties. Such properties are often industrial and manufacturing facilities and complexes and large multi-family, office, retail, and mixed used developments.

Josh also advises clients on, and regularly negotiates with and appears before municipal bodies to obtain, economic development tax incentives. These include fee-in-lieu of taxes arrangements, infrastructure tax credits, multi-county industrial and business park inclusions, tax abatements and rehabilitation tax credits for renovation of abandoned textile and historic properties. He also has experience with title insurance companies both as outside and inside counsel, giving him keen insight into solving complex title and title insurance issues.

Josh has served as Chair of the South Carolina Bar Real Estate Practices Section and as editor of the 2d edition of the South Carolina Commercial Real Estate Handbook. He is a former executive board member of the Upstate, South Carolina chapter of the Urban Land Institute and has chaired and held other leadership positions on several local government boards non-profits. He is a graduate of the South Carolina Bar Leadership Academy, Leadership Spartanburg, is a Regional Fellow of the Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System and has been included in the Pro Bono Honor Roll by the South Carolina Supreme Court for multiple years.

Josh is recognized by Chambers USA, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, SC Biz Magazine’s Real Estate Power List and Greenville Business Magazine’s Legal Elite of the Upstate, and is a recipient of the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award.

Rita has broad environmental experience helping clients navigate the wide range of laws that protect our natural resources.  She is a trusted, reliable partner for businesses, governmental entities, and individuals who need a steady guide through the ins and outs of environmental compliance and litigation.

She advises clients on assessing environmental risks and incentives associated with corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and real estate deals.  In the real estate context, Rita has experience securing and enforcing conservation easements and redeveloping brownfield properties through South Carolina’s Voluntary Cleanup Contract program.

Rita delivers results for clients who need assistance in investigating and responding to permitting challenges, as well as in responding to requests for information and enforcement actions before administrative agencies, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Rita graduated from Clemson University and Harvard Law School. She is a Fellow in the American College of Environmental Lawyers, is recognized by Chambers USA, serves on Council for the American Bar Association Section of the Environment, Energy, and Resources (ABA SEER), and serves as the ABA SEER Liaison for the SC Bar’s Environment and Natural Resources Section.

Sean focuses a majority of his practice in real estate matters, including the sale, purchase, lease, development, and financing of residential, commercial, and industrial properties. He also focuses a portion of his practice on commercial collection and foreclosure matters.

Experience

·       Title insurance agent for a national title insurer and represents sellers, purchasers, lenders, and developers

·       Experienced in litigation and dispute resolution involving real estate matters, commercial collections, and mortgage loan defaults

·       Serves as outside counsel for lending institutions in the Upstate

·       Works with clients including lenders and developers in various capacities, such as closing transactions, negotiating leases, and structuring, closing, and enforcing loans and workouts

·       Has been involved with various land use and government approval processes ranging from HUD Interstate Land Sales to local planning and zoning

·       Works with Firm lawyers on environmental, foreclosure, economic development, land use, and bankruptcy matters

·       Has performed quiet title actions, title insurance claims defense, been involved in negotiations involving tax credit based transactions, asset–based lending, loan participations, and transactions involving fee in lieu of tax, like–kind exchanges, and sale–lease back arrangements

Previous Professional Experience

·       Law Clerk, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Office of General Counsel 

Professional Activities

·       South Carolina Bar

·       American Bar Association

·       Greenville County Bar Association

Teri K. Callen is VP-Director of Strategic Operations for Chicago Title Insurance Company – South Carolina. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, teaching Real Estate Transactions II since 2012.

In addition to her background in commercial real estate transactions, lender representation, title curative work and real property litigation, Ms. Callen is a former commercial lender and former State Counsel and Senior Underwriting Counsel for national title insurance companies in South Carolina. She utilizes her expansive knowledge of real estate, residential and commercial mortgage lending, and title insurance to assist title agents and real estate attorneys in closing and insuring transactions while minimizing risk.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Teri earned her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of South Carolina. She received the Gold Compleat Lawyer Award in 2009 from the University of South Carolina School of Law, an award given to alumni in recognition of their significant contributions to the legal profession and high standards of professional competence, ethics, and integrity, and is AV® Preeminent Peer Review Rated for Ethical Standards and Legal Ability™ by Martindale-Hubbell.

She has been featured twice in Columbia Business Monthly as a “Legal Elite of the Midlands” and is the recipient of the 2014 J. Lee McDonald Award for outstanding contributions to the Palmetto Land Title Association (PLTA). Ms. Callen is a contributing author for the SC Bar’s Practical Guide to Commercial Real Estate in South Carolina, 2^nd Edition, and South Carolina Lawyer’s Guide to Residential Real Estate Closings and is a frequent lecturer for continuing education seminars relating to real estate law and title insurance for the South Carolina Bar, PLTA, NCLTA, ALTA, South Carolina Bankers Association, NBI, SC Realtor Association and numerous financial institutions, among others. She is a Past President of PLTA and has served on its Board of Directors and as Chair of its Education, Legislative, and Membership Committees. Ms. Callen is a graduate of the SC Bankers School at the Moore Schol of Business and is a former Past President of Central SC Chapter of the Risk Management Association (RMA). She is a member of the South Carolina Bar, where she served on the Executive Council of the Young Lawyer’s Division from 1999 to 2001 and co-developed with the late Dave Whitener, Esq., the SC Bar’s Real Estate Essentials course, which she presents annually. Teri is Past President of the Rotary Club of Five Points (Columbia) and when she is not being a self-anointed real estate & title nerd, she enjoys offshore fishing and traveling the world with her daughter.