Partner

Practice Areas

Individual and class action lawsuits for asbestos property damage, products liability, and environmental torts.
Memberships
American Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Trial Lawyers.
Education and Honors
B.A., 1967, Clemson University; Who's Who Among American Colleges and Universities; Student Body President
J.D. 1973, University of South Carolina; South Carolina Law Review.
Professional Activities and Experience
During law school, Mr. Speights served as Law Clerk to the Honorable W. L. Rhodes, Jr., Resident Judge, Fourteenth Judicial Circuit (later Associate Justice, South Carolina Supreme Court).
Mr. Speights was an associate with Glenn, Porter & Sullivan, Columbia, South Carolina in 1973-1976, and opened his law office in his home town of Hampton, South Carolina in 1976.
Mr. Speights and Mr. Runyan formed their partnership in 1987.
Mr. Speights served as a member of the South Carolina Supreme Court Commission on Grievances and Discipline, 1977-1980.
Mr. Speights was admitted to South Carolina bar and United States District Court in 1973, and is a member of the United States Supreme Court and the majority of United States Courts of Appeal. He has been admitted to pro hac vice in state and federal courts across the nation.
Moderator and Lecturer (Partial List)
"Survey as a Function of Cost Recovery," interdisciplinary aspects of asbestos detection and management, sponsored by the Survey Group, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, June 17-18, 1982.
"Asbestos Health Hazards in the Schools: Legal Recovery for Cost of Abatement," North Carolina School Boards Association, Raleigh, North Carolina, January 10, 1983.
"Dealing with Asbestos," South Carolina Association of School Business Officials, Charleston, South Carolina, February 4, 1983.
"Cost Recovery Concepts/Attorney General's Liability Report," asbestos symposium, sponsored by Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, March 24, 1983.
"Legal Action Planning," asbestos abatement training course, sponsored by Arizona Center for Occupational Safety and Health (ACOSH), San Diego, California, August 3-5, 1983.
"Uncovering the Asbestos Hazard," sponsored by National School Boards Association, Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, September 19-20, 1983.
"Asbestos Materials in Buildings Seminar," sponsored by the Survey Group, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, January 30-February 2, 1984.
"Uncovering the Asbestos Hazard," sponsored by National School Boards Association, Vail, Colorado, February 6-9, 1984.
"The Legal Rights and Risks of School Board Members," sponsored by the American School Board Journal, Orlando, Florida, July 12-14, 1984.
"Legal Aspects of Asbestos in Schools," 1984 "I Care" Conference, sponsored by American Association of School Administrators, Washington, D.C., September 21, 1984.
"Asbestos Litigation in Public Schools," Legal Conference of the National Association of State Boards of Education, Dearborn, Michigan, October 11, 1984.
"Annual Symposium on Managing Asbestos in Buildings - Legal Considerations," sponsored by the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, October 24-26, 1984, October 23, 1985, November 3-5, 1986, October 21-23, 1987, October 26-28, 1988, and November 1, 1989.
"Meeting on Asbestos," sponsored by the National School Boards Association, Alexandria, Virginia, October 29, 1984.
"Asbestos Litigation Considerations - The School District as Plaintiff," sponsored by Tennessee School Boards Association, Knoxville, Tennessee, November 12, 1984.
"Asbestos Update: The Johns-Manville Bankruptcy, History of the Pennsylvania Class Action, and Trying a School Asbestos Case," sponsored by the Texas Association of School Boards, Austin, Texas, November 16, 1984.
"Asbestos Litigation," sponsored by the Washington Council of School Attorneys, Seattle, Washington, November 30, 1984.
"Asbestos - Did the Manufacturers Really Know?," sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators, Orlando, Florida, December 8-10, 1984.
"Asbestos:  Legal Recovery for Cost of Abatement," sponsored by the Iowa Association of School Boards, Des Moines, Iowa, December 12, 1984.
"Asbestos:  Action Needed Now!," sponsored by the School Administrators Association, Concord, New Hampshire, January 4, 1985.
"The Mechanics on an Asbestos Property Damage Suit," sponsored by the American Council on Education, Washington, D.C., February 22, 1985.
"The Asbestos Problem: Potential Personal Liability of Superintendents," sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators, Dallas, Texas, March 8-11, 1985.
"Asbestos Property Damage Litigation," sponsored by Law & Business, Inc., New York City, New York, April 15-16, 1985; San Francisco, California, May 20-21, 1985; and New Orleans, Louisiana, October 17-18, 1985.
"Asbestos Abatement and School Construction/Renovation," sponsored by American School Board Journal, Montreal, Canada, July 11-13, 1985.
"Asbestos in Public Buildings," sponsored by the National Association of Counties, Orlando, Florida, July 16, 1985.
"Building Management Conference," sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Baltimore, Maryland, September 17-19, 1985.
National Educational Conference of the American School Board Journal, Las Vegas, Nevada, November 14-16, 1985.
"Non-Occupational Exposure to Asbestos in Schools and Other Buildings," presented by Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, March 7, 1986.
"Building Survey/Hazard Assessment - Cost Recovery Options," sponsored by Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, March 25-26, 1986.
"Asbestos and the Building Owner/Operator," sponsored by Central Illinois Employers' Association, Peoria, Illinois, April 2, 1986.
"The Trial of a Property Damage Claim - Testing and Inspection: The Plaintiff's Response," sponsored by Defense Research Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 24-25, 1986.
"Asbestos Control, Mitigation and Litigation," sponsored by Airport Operators Council International, Denver, Colorado, September 21-22, 1986.
"Pre-trial and Trial Management," JCLE Circuit Court - Construction Litigation Seminar, sponsored by the South Carolina Bar, Columbia, South Carolina, October 23-24, 1986.
"Asbestos Symposium - General Session: Legal and Insurance Issues," sponsored by Georgia Tech Research Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, March 23, 1987.
"Non-Occupational Exposure to Asbestos in Schools and Other Buildings," presented by The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, March 23-24, 1987.
"Fifth Annual Toxic Tort Advocacy Institute Seminar," sponsored by Prentice-Hall Law & Business, New York City, New York, April 23-24, 1987; and San Francisco, California, May 18-19, 1987.
"Asbestos Management Seminar - Legal Ramifications on Asbestos," sponsored by BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association International), New York City, New York, March 10, 1988.
"Asbestos Management Seminar - Litigation and Liability," sponsored by BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association International), Sacramento, California, April 21, 1988.
"Asbestos Management Seminar - Litigation and Liability," sponsored by BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association International), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 28, 1988.
"School & College Law: Legal Implications of Asbestos in Buildings," sponsored by The Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, September 16, 1988.
"Asbestos in Buildings: Legal and Management Planning," sponsored by The Environmental Institute, San Francisco, California, January 20, 1989.
"Asbestos in Buildings: Executive Summary Seminar," sponsored by Gobbell Hays Partners, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona, March 13-14, 1989.
"National Asbestos Council Fall Technical Conference - Mock Trial," sponsored by The Environmental Management Group, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, September 26, 1989.
"Asbestos in Buildings," sponsored by Defense Research Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, June 21, 1990.
"Current Issues in Asbestos in Buildings," sponsored by Defense Research Institute, Orlando, Florida, January 23, 1992.
"Status of Asbestos Building Cases," sponsored by the South Carolina Chapter of the National Asbestos Council, Inc., Charleston, South Carolina, December 3, 1992.
"Demonstrative Evidence," sponsored by the New Hampshire Bar Association, The Balsams, Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, March 1, 1993.
"South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association Annual Convention 1994: Discovery Abuse - The Solution," Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, August 11, 1994.
"Sweet Potato Law - Ethics Beyond the Code" (Panel Member): "Federal Practice in the District of South Carolina: New Directions in Civil Practice, Procedure & Evidence," South Carolina Bar, Columbia, South Carolina, July 28, 1995.
"Ethics at Trial" (Panel Member), South Carolina Bar, Columbia, South Carolina, December 8, 2000.
"Effective Courtroom Advocacy," South Carolina Bar, Columbia, South Carolina, November 22, 2002.
Personal History
Mr. Speights was born in Hampton, South Carolina, on July 22, 1945. Dan and his wife, Judy, are the parents of two daughters. They reside in Hampton, South Carolina.

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