COLUMBIA, SC – Rogers Townsend & Thomas, PC, is pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2018, R. Bryan Barnes, Stuart M. Lee, and J. Geoffrey Osborn will serve on the Firm’s Executive Committee. Elected by Rogers Townsend’s shareholders on December 20, 2017, the three attorneys will lead the strategic direction of the Firm.

Mr. Barnes will continue serving as Chairman of the Firm from the Columbia office.  He focuses his practice on insurance defense litigation, concentrating in construction defect matters and products liability claims.  He also handles toxic torts, construction, and surety and specialty litigation, both in court and in arbitration proceedings. Mr. Barnes is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), the Council on Litigation Management (CLM), and the SC Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association.

Mr. Lee, also based in Columbia, leads Rogers Townsend’s Business and Professional Practices department.  His practice is primarily focused on commercial and industrial transactions, representing commercial lenders as lender’s counsel in complex transactions, workouts, and related compliance matters. Mr. Lee handles many aspects of economic development throughout the region, whether by lender representation in project financing or by representation of developers and utilities.

Mr. Osborn practices in the Firm’s Greenville office, handling complex litigation, including matters involving products liability, construction defects, general construction matters, class actions, environmental claims and electronic discovery. He serves on the Western Carolinas Market Board of the March of Dimes, where he led the organization’s nominating committee.