Press Release
Deborah B. Barbier has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in North America.
The induction ceremony at which Barbier became a Fellow took place recently before an audience of approximately 900 persons during the recent 2015 Annual Meeting of the College in Chicago, Illinois.
Founded in 1950, the College is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States and Canada. Fellowship in the College is extended by invitation only and only after careful investigation, to those experienced trial lawyers who have mastered the art of advocacy and whose professional careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethical conduct, professionalism, civility and collegiality. Lawyers must have a minimum of fifteen years trial experience before they can be considered for Fellowship.
Membership in the College cannot exceed one percent of the total lawyer population of any state or province. There are currently approximately 5860 members in the United States and Canada, including active Fellows, Emeritus Fellows, Judicial Fellows (those who ascended to the bench after their induction) and Honorary Fellows. The College strives to improve and elevate the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the trial profession. Qualified lawyers are called to Fellowship in the College from all branches of trial practice. They are carefully selected from among those who customarily represent plaintiffs in civil cases and those who customarily represent defendants, those who prosecute individuals accused of crime and those who defend them. The College is thus able to speak with a balanced voice on important issues affecting the legal profession and the administration of justice.
Barbier is a sole practitioner who has been practicing throughout South Carolina for twenty-one (21) years. She is a former federal prosecutor and former head of the White Collar Crime division in the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of South Carolina. Barbier is a 2012 recipient of the Compleat Lawyer Award, which is one of the most prestigious awards that a USC law graduate can receive. Barbier has been selected for the past three years to be included in the Best Lawyers in America for her work in two areas – White Collar Criminal Defense and General Criminal Defense. The newly inducted Fellow is an alumna of the University of South Carolina School of Law.