Carolyn Matthews-congratulations

2025-2026 Bill 4999: Carolyn Matthews-congratulations - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4999
STATUS INFORMATION
Concurrent Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Bernstein, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bowers, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Dillard, Duncan, Edgerton, Erickson, Ford, Forrest, Frank, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Gilreath, Govan, Grant, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hartz, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, Hosey, Howard, Huff, J.E. Johnson, J.L. Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, King, Kirby, Landing, Lastinger, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Luck, Magnuson, Martin, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, D. Mitchell, Montgomery, J. Moore, T. Moore, Morgan, Moss, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Oremus, Pace, Pedalino, Pope, Rankin, Reese, Rivers, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sanders, Schuessler, Scott, Sessions, G.M. Smith, M.M. Smith, Spann-Wilder, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Teeple, Terribile, Vaughan, Waters, Weeks, Wetmore, White, Whitmire, Wickensimer, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow
Document Path: LC-0404VR-GM26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 22, 2026
Introduced in the Senate on January 28, 2026
Adopted by the General Assembly on January 28, 2026
Summary: Carolyn Matthews-congratulations
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/22/2026

House

Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate (
House Journal-page 24
)

1/28/2026

Senate

Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence (
Senate Journal-page 10
)

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legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
01/22/2026

A concurrent RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE THE
HONORABLE CAROLYN CASON MATTHEWS AND TO CONGRATULATE HER ON RECEIVING THE 2025
JEAN GALLOWAY BISSELL AWARD FROM THE SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN LAWYERS ASSOCIATION.

W
hereas, the South
Carolina General Assembly is delighted to learn that the Honorable Carolyn
Cason Matthews received the 2025 Jean Galloway Bissell Award at the South
Carolina Women Lawyers Association award ceremony at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden on
Thursday, November 20, 2025; and

W
hereas, the Bissell
Award selection criteria include the honoree's distinguished and noteworthy
service to the public and the legal profession, achievement of professional
excellence, and participation in activities that have paved the way to success
for women lawyers on the national, state, or local level. Past recipients
include the Honorable Jean H. Toal, the Honorable Matthew J. Perry, Jr., and
the Honorable Sandra Day O'Connor; and

W
hereas, Judge Matthews
earned a bachelor's degree in English from Furman University in 1972, also studying
during college at the University of London and the Royal Shakespeare Institute
in Stratford, England, where she focused on English literature, theater, and history.
In preparation for her outstanding legal career, she earned a juris doctorate
from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1978, finishing in the
top ten percent of her class for which she was inducted into the Order of Wig
and Robe; and

W
hereas, a member of
the South Carolina Bar since 1978, she also was admitted to practice before the
United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (1979), the United
States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (1981), and the Supreme Court of
the United States (1986). Her broad career has spanned the three branches of
South Carolina government, serving the judicial branch as a South Carolina
Supreme Court staff attorney (1978-1981) and a law clerk to Justice George T.
Gregory Jr. (1981-1982), the legislative branch as counsel for the House
Judiciary Committee (1986-1988), and the executive branch as an assistant attorney
general (1982-1986), and an administrative law judge (1999-2015); and

W
hereas, from 1988 to
1999, she worked in private practice as a partner at Woodward, Cothran, and Herndon
and at Nelson, Mullins, Riley, and Scarborough, specializing in administrative
and governmental relations as well as commercial litigation and appellate
practice. She returned to private practice in 2016, opening her own firm and
working as a certified circuit court civil mediator (2016-2023), and currently
is a partner in Bell Legal Group, focusing on mass tort and complex civil
litigation; and

W
hereas, Judge Matthews'
accomplishments and service to her profession are many and varied. She was a graduate
of Leadership South Carolina in 1994, a 2011 fellow at the Riley Diversity
Leaders Institute of Furman University, and a 2012 Woman of Distinction for the
South Carolina Girl Scouts. She served as president of the South Carolina Women
Lawyers Association (2012-2013) and president of the South Carolina Senior
Lawyers Executive Council (2020-2021); has written and taught on a variety of legal
topics, such as increasing diversity in the judiciary, state governmental
ethics, judicial independence, and appellate practice. She also served on the South
Carolina Bar's House of Delegates and as a mentor in its Young Lawyers Division;
has been a member of the Richland County Bar Association since 1978, the South
Carolina Women Lawyers Association since 1995, the National Association of
Women Lawyers since 2003, the National Association of Administrative Law Judges
since 1999, and the John Belton Inn of Court since 2002; and

W
hereas, together with
her husband, Colonel John A. McAllister Jr., she has reared three fine
daughters. The South Carolina General Assembly is pleased to commend the
Honorable Carolyn Cason Matthews for her stellar career and to applaud her upon
receiving the Jean Galloway Bissell Award. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the House
of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize the Honorable Carolyn
Cason Matthews and congratulate her on receiving the 2025 Jean Galloway Bissell
Award from the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association.

B
e it further resolved that
a copy of this resolution be presented to the Honorable Carolyn Cason Matthews.

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This web page was last updated on January 22, 2026 at 10:40 AM