LIFESTYLE Bill and Cheryl Hatfield photo by Fred Salley
Bill Hatfield The Next Chapter Retirement, while greatly awaited, doesn’t come easy when you love your job as much as Bill Hatfield has. Bill served as an attorney for nearly 43 years and enjoyed every minute of it. He was grateful to work beside and be mentored by some of the greatest, and his coworkers throughout his career were friends that he considered family. Bill was born and raised in Florence, South Carolina, making his allegiance to the area deep-felt. His father was in WWII and was briefly stationed at Gilbert Field in Florence when he met Bill’s mother. His parents chose to stay in Florence to raise their family. Bill graduated from McClenaghan High School, Class of 1969, and continued his education at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, and obtained his law degree at the University of South Carolina in Columbia in 1977. He came back to his hometown of Florence to begin practicing law at Hyman, Morgan & Brown in January of 1978. “After an interview with Pete Hyman, a partner at the firm, he told me to ‘Hang around and make yourself useful,’” Bill shared. “I worked almost two months before asking if I would be paid. Pete offered $200 a week, I was ecstatic!” And just like that, Bill's law career began. 34
VIPMagSC.com
November 2021
The name of the firm has changed over the years with attorneys coming and going, however, Bill remained with the same law office until retirement. Bill exclaims, “I was trained by the best trial lawyers in the state!” Reggie Brown, another law partner within the firm, was his mentor and became a dear friend. “At first, Reggie told me he didn’t like me and he was going to get rid of me. Within a year of that statement, he was in my wedding and we were inseparable.” While actively practicing, Bill became a boardcertified civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Boston and was elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates. Soon after, in 1989, Hood Temple was hired by the practice. The two became quick friends. “Hood and I tried many significant cases together. The most memorable was our first in 1992. An elected Florence County official owned a mobile home park near Francis Marion University. Complaints about a faulty air conditioner were ignored, a trailer fire ensued, and a child died while the mother was injured. Hood proved to me early on that he was partnership material with his participation in that case which ended favorably for our client.”
