J. Michelle Childs

Judge Childs, mother of Highlander Juliana Angus (class of 2027), was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina in August 2010. She holds a B.S. in Management from the University of South Florida Honors College, a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law and a Masters in Personnel and Employment Relations from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, and a Masters of Judicial Studies, Duke University, May 2016.

Prior to the federal court she served as an At-Large Circuit Court Judge, including having responsibilities as the Chief Administrative Judge for General Sessions and Business Court for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Richland and Kershaw Counties. Judge Childs also had the distinct honor of gubernatorial appointments as a Workers’ Compensation Commissioner (2002-06) and as the Deputy Director for the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation’s Division of Labor (2000-02) overseeing programs for Wages and Child Labor, OSHA, OSHA Voluntary Programs, Elevators and Amusement Rides, Migrant Labor, and Labor-Management Mediation. Judge Childs was formerly a partner with the law firm of Nexsen Pruet Jacobs & Pollard, LLP, in Columbia, South Carolina, where she practiced in the areas of employment and labor law and general litigation. Judge Childs is very active with various local, state and national bar organizations, and community organizations.

As a practicing lawyer and judge, she has lectured and served frequently on panels for topics regarding litigation and trial techniques, courtroom practices and procedures, discovery and expert witness issues, evidence, and various topics for new lawyers.