Columbia-based Counsel Liz Crum was recently featured in South Carolina Super Lawyers Magazine’s cover story that spotlights six female attorneys across the state who helped lead the way for women in the legal industry in the 1970’s.

Included in the feature alongside Crum is Susan Smythe, the first woman in Charleston to make partner and Alice Paylor, the fourth female president of the South Carolina Bar Association.

The story takes a look at what it was really like back then as a new female attorney and what challenges and misconceptions this group of women had to deal with to get to where they are today. Each were asked about what it was like to enter the legal field during the 1970’s.

For Crum, “My grandfather and great-grandfather, father and uncle were all lawyers in Denmark, South Carolina, and my mother’s brother was a lawyer. My mother had her master’s in chemistry, so I thought I could be a lawyer or scientist. That said, when I first told my father I wanted to go to law school, he was not so sure about it. He had seen a woman lawyer tell a judge, “I’m sorry, I can’t go to court today, I have to get my hair done,” so that made him dubious.”

The group was also asked to talk about their experiences with mentorship, discrimination, inclusion, work-life balance and how they have learned from mistakes in their career.

When talking about how important mentorship is and sharing what you’ve learned with young lawyers, Crum had this to say, “I was honored to receive the 2013 Bissell Award from the South Carolina Women Lawyers Association for my work mentoring women. The first thing is inclusion. I’m big on that, on getting them involved in not just legal issues but life. I try to make sure they understand the opportunity they have as a lawyer to give back to the community.”

The story also featured Margaret Pope from Pope Flynn, Kathy McKinney from Haynesworth Sinkler Boyd and Kay Gaffney Crowe from Barnes Alford Stork & Johnson.

Click here to view the full story from South Carolina Super Lawyers' Magazine.

At Burr, Crum is a partner in the firm’s Health Care Group with significant experience in the South Carolina Administrative Law Court, federal and state regulatory areas of health care, including: Certificate of Need, health care facility and professional licensure and certification, Stark and Anti-kickback and HIPAA matters. In state and local government procurement, Liz regularly represents private and public clients in matters dealing with the state Consolidated Procurement Code and assists local government in conducting procurements.

Her leadership in the legal industry includes serving as chair of the SC Bar Convention and Health Law Committee as well as serving as vice chair of the University of South Carolina Development Foundation. She has also served as an Assistant Attorney General for South Carolina in the Special Litigation Section and as Staff Counsel and Director of Research for the South Carolina House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Crum has also served as chairman of the Richland County Election and Voter Registration Board, President of the South Carolina Woman Lawyer’s Association (SCWLA) and chairman of the Governor’s Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee.