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Columbia, SC  – The South Carolina Bar Foundation is proud to announce that Elizabeth Van Doren Gray, member of Sowell Gray Robinson Stepp and Laffitte, LLC, has been selected as the 2017 DuRant Distinguished Public Service Award recipient for meritorious service to the law and community. The DuRant Distinguished Public Service Award was established in 1980 in memory of Charlton DuRant. Mr. DuRant was a well-known Manning attorney who served as state senator and special associate justice of the SC Supreme Court. This award is one of the most prestigious statewide honors that members of the Bar can bestow on a fellow attorney. Recipients are nominated by their professional peers and selected by the South Carolina Bar Foundation Board.

Ms. Gray is an accomplished litigator at Sowell Gray Robinson; her practice includes commercial litigation, probate and estate litigation, professional liability and ethics, and securities and FINRA. She earned her juris doctor and bachelor of arts degrees from the University of South Carolina.

In addition to being a gifted attorney, Ms. Gray has received many accolades for her service to the legal community. She was selected to be the second woman president of the South Carolina Bar. She received the 2016 Fellows Award presented by the National Conference of Bar Presidents. This award recognizes the accomplishments of a past president of a bar association who has demonstrated a continuing commitment to leadership, the work of the organized bar and the purpose of the NCBP. She has also been the recipient of the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leadership in Law Award, the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association Jean Galloway Bissell Award, and the TWIN Award from the Palmetto Center for Women. Her service to the legal community also includes:

• Member, Chief Justice’s Commission on the Profession
• Chair of the United States Magistrate Merit Selection Panel
• Chair of the Statewide and Regional Citizens Advisory Committee of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission and,
• Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, American Bar Foundation and Litigation Counsel of America

Ms. Gray is also very involved in community service:

• 20 Years Strong Service Project: Helping the community with legal advice
• Current Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community
• Former member and Board of Directors of the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation