I.S. Leevy Johnson, Founding Shareholder
I.S. Leevy Johnson is a founding shareholder and the patriarch of Johnson, Toal and Battiste, P.A. He has been practicing for over forty years and is recognized as one of the top criminal and civil lawyers in South Carolina and in the United States. His areas of practice are criminal and civil litigation.
I.S. has been featured in numerous editions of The Best Lawyers and has been selected for inclusion in Super Lawyers. He has received the highest rating for ethics and legal ability awarded by Martindale-Hubbell National legal rating service. He has also received most of the top honors accorded a lawyer in South Carolina including the highest awards from the South Carolina Bar, The University of South Carolina School of Law, and the Columbia Lawyers Association. In 1985, Ebony Magazine recognized him as a "dynamic leader on the legal front" in the United States and in 2001; The State newspaper deemed him as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in the area of criminal defense. Internationally, I.S. has been inducted as a Fellow into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers.
I.S. has also distinguished himself as a leader in the legal profession. He was the first African-American president of the South Carolina Bar and is a past president of the American Bar Endowment.
Embarking upon a career in public service, in 1970, I.S. made history by becoming one of the first Blacks elected to the South Carolina General Assembly since Reconstruction. In 1995, he became owner of Leevy's Funeral Home, a generations-old local business founded by his grandparents.
I.S. has been recognized widely for outstanding public service, culminating in the presentation of the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award available to South Carolina citizens, by Governor Jim Hodges in 1999.
He is married to the former Doris Wright. They are the parents of two sons, George C. Johnson and Christopher Leevy Johnson. Doris currently serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Benedict College. George is a shareholder with Johnson, Toal & Battiste, P.A. Christopher is the Managing Director of Leevy's Funeral Home and is an ordained Baptist minister. I.S. is the proud grandfather of Rachel Hurley Johnson and Ryann Leevy Johnson. |
803-252-9700
803-252-9102