If you have read my bio, you will see that aside from the military, I’m also an attorney. As a middle-aged lawyer fresh out of law school, with already a number of years of military experience, I was extremely fortunate to work for one of the greatest minds in South Carolina’s legal profession. She has the distinction of being the first woman to ever serve as a Justice on the Supreme Court, and now she is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. The two years I spent serving as her judicial law clerk were jammed with a lot of hard work and tons of writing and research. The opportunity to work for her was perhaps the best two years I could have ever spent in the profession since, at the end of my tenure, I had a far greater working knowledge of how to practice law than many of my peers. The Honorable Jean H. Toal, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina, is a mentor, scholar, and, most importantly, a friend. I point out this back story mainly because it was an honor and a pleasure to finally get her a signed copy of my book.
I had wanted to get her a copy for several months, but last week two things finally came together. Armed with a brand new copy of my book, I found myself with a few moments to get by the Court and, even though they were holding court in the morning, Chief Justice Toal actually found a few minutes to meet with me that afternoon. Clearly I won’t go into any great detail about our meeting, but suffice it to say, she is a true science fiction fan, and the reaction that I had written such a story was priceless. I was proud and delighted to give her a signed copy of the book, but the most wonderful thing for me was seeing that reaction. It literally was like going home, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
My two years working directly for her gave me an insight into things that have more than a little bearing on my work. She is brilliant, and perhaps the greatest legal mind I have ever seen in action. Her ability to swoop through a mountain of records, files, evidence, briefs, etc., is unsurpassed and her further ability to get to the key details in that mountain of material are absolutely uncanny. Without a doubt, her tenure as our Chief Justice is marked by accomplishment, and I will always be very proud to call her my friend. ~ Michael S. Pauley
I had wanted to get her a copy for several months, but last week two things finally came together. Armed with a brand new copy of my book, I found myself with a few moments to get by the Court and, even though they were holding court in the morning, Chief Justice Toal actually found a few minutes to meet with me that afternoon. Clearly I won’t go into any great detail about our meeting, but suffice it to say, she is a true science fiction fan, and the reaction that I had written such a story was priceless. I was proud and delighted to give her a signed copy of the book, but the most wonderful thing for me was seeing that reaction. It literally was like going home, and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.
My two years working directly for her gave me an insight into things that have more than a little bearing on my work. She is brilliant, and perhaps the greatest legal mind I have ever seen in action. Her ability to swoop through a mountain of records, files, evidence, briefs, etc., is unsurpassed and her further ability to get to the key details in that mountain of material are absolutely uncanny. Without a doubt, her tenure as our Chief Justice is marked by accomplishment, and I will always be very proud to call her my friend. ~ Michael S. Pauley
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