On July 24, 2019, South Carolina joined the ranks of Alabama, Pennsylvania, and others in abolishing future recognition of common law marriages in the state. The state will continue to recognize all common law marriages in effect before this date, but they will be subject to a higher standard of proof. On and after July
Ellison F. McCoy
Ellison F. McCoy is the office managing principal of the Greenville, South Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is engaged exclusively in the practice of employment law on behalf of management.
Ellison has represented employers in litigation matters before state and federal administrative agencies and various state and federal trial and appellate courts. During his legal career, Ellison has handled a wide-variety of employment matters involving claims such as discrimination based on race, sex, national origin, age and disability; sexual and racial harassment; wrongful discharge; retaliation; breach of contract; defamation; covenants not to compete and trade secret violations; and violations of the Family Medical Leave Act. In addition, he has extensive experience counseling clients on compliance issues and litigation avoidance strategies and regularly conducts management training programs on various employment-related topics. Ellison devotes a significant amount of his practice to assisting employers with disability practice management, particularly including issues arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act.