Steve Denton, formerly a narcotics and vice squad officer in the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Department, has built a reputation for his unwavering commitment to justice. He worked his way into homicide investigations before retiring from law enforcement as a captain over the investigations division, supervising over 100 detectives. With valuable law enforcement contacts statewide, Steve Denton transitioned to the courtroom at the age of 43 and now represents defendants with dedication and expertise. Expert Legal Representation and Mediation Services in Upstate SC Through his law enforcement career, Steve Denton knows firsthand that people need defending. “Just because you are charged with a crime doesn’t mean you are guilty,” he says. Steve Denton grew up in Spartanburg, graduating from Spartanburg High School. He studied criminal justice at Spartanburg Methodist College, earning an Associate’s Degree, and later completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of South Carolina Upstate. After college, Steve Denton worked at the Sheriff’s Department in his hometown. With two decades of law enforcement experience, he pursued his Juris Doctor at the Charleston School of Law, graduating in 2010. That same year, he was admitted to the South Carolina State Bar. For a year, Steve Denton, attorney practiced law independently before joining a law firm where he now focuses on criminal law—his passion and dream job. He also teaches criminal justice, constitutional law, and trial advocacy at Upstate, further contributing to the field. Steve Denton is well-known for his accessibility. Retaining the same cell phone number for over 20 years, dating back to his law enforcement days, he answers calls day or night. “In law enforcement, you have to answer every call,” he says. “I’ve just kept up that practice.” As one of the most reliable lawyers in Spartanburg, SC, Steve Denton embodies professionalism, dedication, and compassion, making him a trusted name in the legal community.

Wes Kissinger joined what was then Harrison, White, Smith, Hayes, & Coggins, P.C. in 2003 after spending the first five years of his practice defending personal injury lawsuits, mostly arising from automobile collisions and commercial premises accidents, for several insurance companies. Now, as an Attorney at KD Trial Lawyers, he applies what he learned defending lawsuits to his trial practice representing individuals and families in state and federal court. His practice focus has remained personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from car, motorcycle, and truck collisions, as well as nursing home abuse and neglect and medical malpractice. Wes has been voted by his peers for Super Lawyers every year since 2014 and has been a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates since 2017. Wes has also been named among the Legal Elite of the Upstate for several years. His practice focuses on Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death, Car and Motorcycle Accidents, Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect, Medical Malpractice, and Dram Shop / Alcohol Sale Liability. Wes has achieved numerous multi-million-dollar settlements involving trucking accidents and numerous jury trial verdicts, including a $2,000,000 jury award in Spartanburg County arising from medical malpractice. Wes admits that he loves the competitive aspects of being a civil litigator. But more than anything, he says, his greatest enjoyment as a lawyer comes from the people he represents. “I like helping people navigate a process they’re not familiar with and helping them through a very difficult time in their lives,” he says. “Until they’re in a situation when they need a lawyer, people oftentimes don’t really have a sense of how much their lives can be affected by an event they did nothing to cause. I want to ease that burden.” In a similar fashion, he strives to carry this kind of human touch into the courtroom when he is trying cases. “I do my best not to speak like a lawyer,” he says. “When I’m speaking to a jury, I speak to them like an ordinary person; I try to make difficult concepts very easy to understand by using plain language. Trial is the art of persuasion. It is hard to persuade someone if he or she doesn’t understand what you’re talking about.” Wes and his wife have five kids, from elementary school to adult and all in between. They enjoy camping, water sports, and hunting. An avid motorcyclist, Wes has a unique perspective and passion for representing fellow riders. He is also passionate about serving on the Board of Directors for Greer Christian Learning Center and the Board of Directors for CBL State Savings Bank, a community bank in Greer and Landrum.

Thanks for learning a little more about me! I spent most of my childhood in and around where my parents grew up, Augusta, Georgia. I started school in a tiny nearby town called Wrens. It was like the small towns you hear stories about- everyone knew everyone and people didn’t lock their doors at night, some when they went on vacation! I went to school with the same 25-35 folks my whole life, until we moved. Our town was so small, we had no junior high. In 7th grade, you went to high school. On weekends and in the summer, I’d leave home around 10 am to join friends for the adventure of the day, check in for lunch, and come home when the sun went down. We played a lotta baseball and football. This is where I tell you about the pinnacle of my athletic career. I was a three-year starter for WPEH Radio, aka the Mean Green Machine, for the color of our jerseys, who achieved unparalleled dominance in the Wrens Dixie Youth Baseball League from 1982-86, winning three league championships. My last year, I pitched. But don’t think this is another lawyer starting the chest-thumping. My pitching career ended in humiliation, at an all-star tournament in Swainsboro, where the home team unceremoniously shelled me in a 16-1 loss. Let me assure you, whoever said there’s no crying in baseball never, ever played the game. I still remember standing alone on the mound, looking at that scoreboard and that massive 16 runs, tears streaming down my face. But life moved on, and so did we. In ninth grade, Dad took a job in Charlotte, so we moved to Rock Hill, where I graduated from Northwestern High in 1992 and did not make the baseball team. It was a dramatic departure from Wrens- Northwestern had almost as many students as Wrens had people! But I made good friends, and I’m thankful for the educational opportunities that came my way. For college, I shocked all my family and friends by not attending the University of Georgia. It’s my family’s school, as UGA claims as alums my father, grandmother, great uncle, and many others stretching back a long, long time. But I knew myself, and I knew UGA wasn’t the best place for me: I don’t thrive in large environments. So I made my best first decision for me: I headed to Spartanburg to go to Wofford. My Wofford experience and the lifelong friendships I developed from it molded me to be a better man. I graduated in 1996. I worked in Spartanburg for a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch for a year, long enough to figure out that wasn’t for me. But the law was. I graduated from law school at the University of South Carolina in 2000. Shortly before that, at a pledge brother’s wedding in Spartanburg, the single most important encounter of my life occurred. A close friend of the bride turned my head, and I never looked back. Her name’s Amy. I call her Mamie. We married in 2002. On meeting her, my great uncle turned to me and said, “How’d you do that?” A close friend’s father perfectly summed up my spectacular luck: “Sometimes even a blind hog finds an acorn.” [I must add, Mamie’s no acorn, she’s pure gold]. Here’s how my legal career started. After law school, I worked as a law clerk for State Circuit Court Judge Rodney Peeples in Barnwell, helping him research legal issues to decide cases and manage his caseload. He held court mostly in Aiken, Bamberg, and Barnwell. After a year there, I returned to the Upstate in 2001 to practice law in Easley. In 2005, I joined this firm. I’m grateful to practice law here. I’m most thankful to be part of the Spartanburg community, where we raise our four children. Yep, that’s a lot. We like to joke that God’s got more confidence in us than we do. Here’s our lineup: Addie [I call her Bunny] born 2007, Jack born 2009, and [here’s where Divine Confidence really comes in] our twins Luke and Sally [I call her Sweet Pea] born 2013, collectively called the Deuce. We belong to First Presbyterian Church here in town, where I’ve served twice as a deacon. Over the years, I’ve also served Spartanburg on the boards of the local Red Cross and TOTAL Ministries, a mission funded by local churches to feed, clothe, and support the less fortunate. In 2018, I got appointed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to serve on the Spartanburg Area Mental Health Center Board. I got named board chairman in 2022. As we know from far too many recent tragic events, crumbing mental health is a looming problem in our world. Way too many people suffer untold agony in silence, and I’m hoping to use this position to help folks confronting mental illness. To me, these illnesses are no different than the common cold- you can’t help you got it, but it can often be helped before it gets dangerously worse. I’m honored to be asked to help some folks in our community who are in bad pain and desperate need of help. I’ve been honored to be an elected leader within the legal profession as a two-term member of the board of directors for the state criminal defense lawyers association and chairman of the personal injury and insurance committee of the South Carolina Bar. For my entire legal career, starting in 2001, I’ve worked to help people who got hurt from others’ carelessness or on the job, and defend people accused of crime, including DUI. I’ve tried numerous cases to a jury verdict, from car accidents to residential construction to assault and battery with intent to kill, and DUIs. I’ve also tried several workers’ compensation hearings. The best thing about being a lawyer is that I get to be a voice for folks who might not otherwise have one. I am very proud of the people I help and the causes I represent.

Patrick was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and is a partner at the law firm of Anderson & Moore. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. Following college, Patrick worked in the real estate, advertising, and marketing fields before starting law school at the Charleston School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor. After sitting for the bar exam he moved back home to Spartanburg to begin a Judicial Clerkship with Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge J. Mark Hayes. Upon completing his Judicial Clerkship for Judge Hayes, Patrick began work as an Assistant Solicitor for former Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy. Patrick’s initial case load focused on General Crimes, with cases ranging broadly from forgery and property crimes to Assault and Battery with Intent to Kill. Following the General Crimes case load, Patrick became the DUI prosecutor for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which includes Spartanburg and Cherokee Counties. He was the DUI prosecutor for 3 years, and was responsible for both Magistrate level and Circuit Court level DUI charges. His case load ranged from DUI and Felony DUI to Failure to Stop for Blue Light and Habitual Traffic Offender. Patrick left the Solicitors Office in 2011 to go into private practice. He devotes the majority of his practice to defending clients charged with DUI, Felony DUI, Drug charges, and all criminal offenses, as well as representing clients on divorce and custody matters. Patrick’s lifetime ties to Spartanburg have given him extensive knowledge of the community and its people, and that lends itself well to representing his clients’ interests successfully. Patrick knows the area because he has lived there all his life. Patrick prides himself on being available whenever his clients need him. He strives to ensure his clients get the best results and is there to guide them through every step of the process.

John was born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He graduated from Charleston School of Law in 2007. After graduating from law school, John went to work in private practice. John spent the first five years of his legal career handling litigation in family, criminal, and personal injury matters. In 2012, John joined this firm, where his practice is devoted to family law and injury cases. He and his wife, Reagan, are residents of Spartanburg, and he is grateful to be a part of the Spartanburg legal community. John attends church at the Episcopal Church of the Advent. Over the years, John has served on committees for his church as well as boards for local charitable and educational organizations in the area. John works hard to help people when they need legal services. John cares for his clients and tries to give each one the dedicated representation they deserve.