GREENVILLE, S.C. – Three partners of Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, LLC, along with four firm associates, have been named to Greenville Business Magazine’s Legal Elite of the Upstate for the fifth consecutive year. The Legal Elite is composed of attorneys in the Upstate who were nominated by their peers as “the best and most well-respected in their field.”
Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, LLC’s managing partners are recognized as South Carolina’s Legal Elite for the following: Jim Bannister for Criminal Law, Bruce Bannister for Criminal Law and Energy Law, and Alex Stalvey for Personal Injury Law. Four firm associates are honored for their work in the following: Marcelo Torricos III for Criminal Law, Elizabeth McCool for Family Law, Jack McDonald for Residential Real Estate Law, and Luke Burke for Energy and Utilities Law (Top Vote).
Jim Bannister, managing partner, has been honored among Greenville’s Legal Elite for criminal defense each year the award has been offered. He has been honored as a S.C. Super Lawyer for nine consecutive years and The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2008 for Criminal Defense and DUI Defense, with a specific “Lawyer of the Year” award in 2019. He has also been named among the S.C. nominees for Top 100 Trial Lawyers by The National Trial Lawyers. In 2016, Mr. Bannister became one of only three members of the South Carolina Bar to be named as a fellow to the American Board of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Managing partner Alex Stalvey is a former prosecutor, having served as an Assistant Solicitor in Spartanburg and Greenville counties. He currently handles complex criminal and civil litigation for the firm and has represented clients in a range of complex criminal matters, including murder, criminal sexual conduct, and Title IX sexual misconduct cases on university campuses.
In 2014, he was certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy for criminal trial advocacy. Stalvey is AV-Peer Rated by Martindale-Nolo.
Bruce Bannister’s legal practice focuses on family law, eminent domain, and civil litigation. He has been recognized amongst 2019’s Best Lawyers in America in Greenville. In addition to his private practice, Bannister serves as the SC House District 24 Representative since 2005. His other accolades include Leadership Greenville Class XXVI graduate, Liberty Fellowship Class of 2014 graduate, board member of the Children’s Museum of the Upstate and the Andrews Society of Greenville, and recipient of the 2011 Children’s Hospital Legislative Advocacy Award.
Marcelo Torricos III’s practice is focused on criminal defense as well as family/domestic law. His decision to focus on criminal and civil law was greatly influenced through his clerkship for the Honorable Robin B. Stilwell, Circuit Court Judge for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Mr. Torricos was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in November 2013. During law school, he clerked for the United States District Attorney’s Office in Greenville, SC and for the Honorable J. Michelle Childs of the Federal District Court in Greenville, S.C.
As an associate of Bannister, Wyatt & Stavley, LLC, Elizabeth McCool brings experience to the firm in both family and real estate law. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She continued her education receiving an MBA from Gardner Webb University and law degree from the University of South Carolina. During her time at USC, she served as Production Editor of the Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Journal, and was a member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society.
Associate Jack McDonald’s practice is primarily focused on real estate transactions, both residential and commercial. He also handles foreclosures, collections, and probate law. He has previously been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for real estate law.
Luke Burke’s main area of practice is in Civil Litigation, with a primary focus on Family Law, Real Estate Litigation, and Business Litigation. In 2011, Burke graduated with honors from the University of South Carolina School of Law and became a member of the South Carolina Bar.
Since 2012, Greenville Business Magazine has honored the area’s most respected attorneys through publishing the Legal Elite. Greenville Business Magazine sends its annual survey to more than 800 lawyers across Greater Greenville. Each lawyer nominates who he or she feels are the region’s best and most well-respected attorneys in 20 practice areas.
Respondents are allowed to nominate lawyers in their firms, but for each in-firm lawyer nominated, the nominator is required to nominate an out-of-firm lawyer, though not necessarily in the same practice area. Legal Elite is the only award program in the region that gives every active attorney the opportunity to participate.
About Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, LLC
Since 1976, the award-winning attorneys of Bannister, Wyatt & Stalvey, LLC, have provided skilled, professional and tailored legal advice in the areas of criminal law, family law and real estate law in Greenville, S.C. Learn more at www.bannisterandwyatt.com.
