Vordman Carlisle Traywick III

Member
Phone

(803) 231-7810

Photo

Lisle primarily focuses his practice on appeals, public utility regulation, and complex civil litigation.

He advises and represents public utilities in regulatory proceedings, defends governmental entities and public officials, and litigates constitutional and election-related issues in state and federal court. Through his diverse practice, Lisle has gained experience handling class actions, complex appeals, declaratory judgment actions, extraordinary writs, injunctions, and original jurisdiction cases.

In addition to practicing, Lisle enjoys teaching Election Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the NMR&S Center on Professionalism, and he also serves as Vice President of the South Carolina Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, State Chair for the American Bar Association Council of Appellate Lawyers, and Co-Chair of the Appellate Subcommittee of the South Carolina Bar’s Judicial Qualifications Committee. In 2022, the Supreme Court of South Carolina appointed him to the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization.
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Lisle has published articles in the South Carolina Law Review, the South Carolina Lawyer, and the South Carolina Young Lawyer. And he has lectured, moderated, and participated in multiple CLEs and panel discussions at events hosted by the South Carolina Court of Appeals, University of South Carolina School of Law, South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association, South Carolina Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and American Bar Association Litigation Section.

A Columbia native, Lisle graduated cum laude from Wofford College, receiving his bachelor’s degree in government with a concentration in political thought and a minor in economics. He then earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he tutored in legal writing and served as Editor in Chief of the South Carolina Law Review.

Prior to joining Robinson Gray, Lisle clerked for the Honorable H. Bruce Williams at the South Carolina Court of Appeals and the Honorable David C. Norton at the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

  • Represented governmental entities, public officials, businesses, and individuals in appeals before the South Carolina Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of South Carolina related to campaign finance, civil procedure, constitutional law, COVID-19 pandemic, criminal law, election law, ethics laws, family law, FOIA, and injunctions and extraordinary writs.
  • Represented public officials and state agencies in state and federal court in constitutional litigation and class action lawsuits.
  • Represented state political party, legislative caucus, candidates, campaigns, and legislative leadership in various fora concerning absentee ballot requirements, election protests, qualification issues, redistricting, and other election-related matters.
  • Defended lawyers, law firms, doctors, and hospitals in state and federal court in professional malpractice actions.
  • Advised and represented South Carolina electric utility in base rate case proceedings, integrated resource planning proceedings, requests for approval of demand side management and energy efficiency programs, customer complaint proceedings, and fuel proceedings.
  • Advised South Carolina water and wastewater utility on regulatory matters and represented the utility in base rate case proceedings.

  • Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch List (2023-2025)
    • Appellate Practice
    • Commercial Litigation
    • Insurance Law
    • Product Liability Litigation – Defendants
  • Columbia Business Monthly Legal Elite of the Midlands
    • Appellate (2023, 2024)
    • Election Law (2024)
  • South Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Star
    • Appellate (2023-2024)

  • Moderator, “AI and Local Elections,” University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law’s AI And Elections Symposium (2024)
  • Presenter, “Putting Experts Through Their Paces Under the Council/Daubert Framework,” It’s All A Game: Top Trial Lawyers Tackle Evidence CLE (Feb. 2024)
  • Panelist, “Strategies for Handling Vexatious FOIA Requests and Hostile Government Meetings,” South Carolina Bar Convention (Jan. 2024)
  • Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen: The Rise and Fall of the “Mere Scintilla” Standard for Summary Judgment, S.C. Lawyer, Jan. 2024, at 50.
  • Presenter, “Running for Political Office: A Primer on South Carolina Election Law,” South Carolina Bar Convention (Jan. 2023).
  • Presenter, “View from the Second Chair: Preserving Evidentiary Objections for Appeal,” South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association Annual Meeting (Nov. 2022).
  • Moderator, Federal Civil Practice Panel, Federal Bar Association “Introduction to Federal Practice” Seminar at Columbia Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (July 2021).
  • Keys to a Productive 2021, S.C. Young Lawyer, June 2021, at 4.
  • Panelist, “Election Law 2020,” University of South Carolina School of Law Webinar moderated by Dean William C. Hubbard (Oct. 2020).
  • Panelist, “Get Involved! Nonpartisan Volunteer Opportunities for Young Lawyers,” ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Seat at the Table Initiative Webinar (May 2020).
  • Presenter, “Back to the Basics: A Practical Guide to Legal Citation in The Bluebook,” CLE at South Carolina Court of Appeals (Oct. 2019).
  • Back to the Drawing Board: Redistricting 2020, S.C. Lawyer, Sept. 2019, at 52.
  • Panelist, “Introduction to Federal Practice” seminar presented by the Federal Bar Association (June 2018).
  • Speaker, “How to Get Involved in Appellate Work,” ABA Roundtable event presented by the Young Advocates and Appellate Practice Committees of the ABA Section on Litigation (July 2017).
  • Tips From a Former Law Clerk: How to Write Persuasively Without Coming Unhinged, S.C. Young Lawyer, Dec. 2016.
  • Presenter, “‘You’re My Boy, Blue’: A Guide to Legal Citation in the Twentieth Edition of The Bluebook,” CLE at the South Carolina Court of Appeals (Oct. 2015).
  • Introduction, On Task?: Expanding the Boundaries of Legal Education, 65 S.C. L. Rev. 519 (2014).
  • Note, The South Carolina Primary Debacle: The Impact of Anderson v. South Carolina State Election Commission and Vague State Election Laws on the 2012 Election, 64 S.C. L. Rev. 931 (2013).

  • Judicial Clerk, The Honorable H. Bruce Williams, South Carolina Court of Appeals (2014–2016)
  • Judicial Clerk, The Honorable David C. Norton, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (July–September 2016)
  • Adjunct Professor of Election Law, University of South Carolina School of Law (2020-present)

Professional
  • American Bar Association
    • State Chair, Council of Appellate Lawyers
  • South Carolina Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization (2022-present)
  • Federal Bar Association
    • Secretary, South Carolina Chapter (2022-2023)
    • Treasurer, South Carolina Chapter (2021-2022)
    • Board Member (2019-present)
  • Richland County Bar Association
  • South Carolina Bar Association
    • Judicial Qualifications Committee (2016-2019)
    • Co-Chair, Publications & Marketing Committee, Young Lawyers Division (2019-2021)
  • South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association
    • Emerging Leaders Program Graduate (2019)
  • Leadership Columbia Graduate (Class of 2020)
Community
  • University of South Carolina School of Law Young Alumni Council
    • President (2020-2021); Immediate Past President (2021-2022)
  • University of South Carolina School of Law NMR&S Center on Professionalism
    • Member, Advisory Board (2019-present)
    • Co-Chair, 3L Mentoring Program (2016-2021)
    • Mentor to 1L Students (2016-2021)
  • G.O.L.D. Ambassador, Wofford College Alumni Association (2019-2021)

Bar Admissions
  • South Carolina Bar
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
Education
  • University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D. (2014)
    • Editor in Chief, Volume 65, South Carolina Law Review
    • Student Member, John Belton O’Neall Inn of Court
    • Teaching Assistant, Legal Research, Analysis & Writing
  • Wofford College, B.A., cum laude (2011)
    • Honor Council