Barnes strives for balance between work, Sumter family

By BETHANY FULLER
Item Staff Writer
bethanyf@theitem.com

For the past year, Jack Barnes has juggled his work for the state of South Carolina in the education adequacy funding trial in Manning and his duties as a father.

Barnes, 38, started practicing law at Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough LLP, of Columbia in the summer of 1994 and worked there until December 1998. He then went to work for Sowell, Todd, Laffitte, Beard and Watson, also of Columbia.

When the state of South Carolina decided to change lawyers after the S.C. Supreme Court decided the school funding case should be heard in a lower court, the firm of Bobby Stepp and Betsy Gray — Glenn, Murphy, Gray and Stepp of Columbia — got the case.

"It is sort of a funny story," Barnes said. "The lawyer who originally represented the House and the Senate, he had to withdraw. He wanted to do some other things. It just so happened that Bobby and Betsy's firm and our firm were the two finalists to get the case."

A year-and-a-half later, the two firms merged to form Sowell Gray Stepp & Laffitte LLC.

Needing additional help with the mounting case, the firm asked Barnes to help.

"They needed someone with experience and someone who could donate a large amount of time to it," Barnes said. "I just happened to be at a good point in my workload to do it."

Prior to going to trial, Barnes visited most of the schools in the eight trial districts. He has been in the broom closets, maintenance sheds and classrooms. Some of the schools were well-maintained with new buildings; some were exactly the opposite.

"I could walk into a school and tell you within five minutes whether it is a good school or a not-good school," he said. "I have seen every inch of most of these schools. I was not shocked by anything that I saw in these districts."

When the trial is in session, Barnes works from 6 a.m. to almost midnight, depending on the witness, and is away from his wife, Sarah Barnes, and their three children, Jack, 11, Charlie, 8, and James, 7, during the week. He can come home, since he lives in Sumter, but the time necessary for trial preparation prevents him from seeing his family. So instead, Barnes stays at the Holiday Inn Express in Manning with the other lawyers on the case. He thinks his family understands why he has to be away so much.

"We work so late and start so early, it is really difficult to come home," he said. "I think they are proud of me, I think they recognize the importance of the case. It's unusual that a 38-year-old lawyer would have the kind of opportunity to try such a big case, and to be such an integral and active part of it as I have been."

The children have helped out while her husband has been away, said Sarah Barnes. She has a new appreciation for single parents and airmen whose spouses are deployed. She said the experience has given her a different perspective, but it has also made her appreciate that her husband is only a phone call away.

Jack Barnes still tries to be there for his children. Thursday was his son Jack's first football game with Wilson Hall. He left work early so he could see his son play. Barnes said Judge Thomas Cooper Jr. gives the lawyers leeway in the times and dates they are available for the case.

"There are some judges who would say, 'I understand your situation, but we got to press on,'" he said. "I think Judge Cooper recognizes that this has been really hard on all of us. But you're talking about something that has been going on for a year. You can't miss every field trip. It is just not fair."

When Barnes is at home, he and his family have a morning ritual. While Sarah is doing her morning workout, Jack cooks breakfast for the family. Sarah said he will look in the refrigerator and see what he can "whip up." The boys' favorite things, like French toast, usually involve syrup. Afterward, Jack loads his three sons into the truck and takes them to school.

"They are proud of their daddy," said Sarah Barnes. "They know he is working hard."

For more information, contact Bobby Stepp at 803.929.1400 or rstepp@sowell.com.

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