Honoring Harvey L. Golden's 50 Years of Practicing Law

HONORING HARVEY L. GOLDEN'S 50 YEARS OF PRACTICING LAW -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 07, 2004)

SPEECH OF
HON. JOE WILSON
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2004

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to praise the works of one of South Carolina's outstanding legal minds, Harvey L. Golden, who celebrates 50 years of practicing family law this month. I am proud to call Harvey a good friend, a fellow member of the Bar of South Carolina, and I ask all of my colleagues to join me in honoring his lifetime of hard work and service in the law profession.

I ask that the following information on Harvey's life and achievements be added into the official record.
Harvey Laurance Golden was born in Brooklyn, New York, October 15, 1929, the only child of Gertrude Dribbon Golden who had, come to this Country from Manchester, England, and Irvin (Jack) Golden who was born in New York. When Harvey was four years old, his mother, father and he moved from Brooklyn to Hartford, Connecticut, where his father spent World War II working at the Colt Firearms factory and, subsequently, became a supervisor in Pratt and Whitney Aircraft factory. In Hartford, his mother became a buyer for Brown and Thompson Department Store. In Hartford, Harvey attended the Vine Street School and subsequently Jones Jr. High School. Whereupon the family moved to Columbia, South Carolina, after a brief summer in Augusta, Georgia. In Columbia, he attended Columbia High School and became Business Manager of the school newspaper, "High Life" and became active in the high school debate team. Harvey was also active in the drama club and chorus.

While in Columbia, Harvey and some of his best friends joined the S.C. Air National Guard in 1948 and when the Korean war began, he turned down a college deferment when his S.C. Guard unit was federalized. The South Carolina Guard was the first guard unit in the country to be nationalized and he was the first guardsman in Korea and one month later was promoted to Sergeant. He spent two years as a Weapons Specialist in charge of the 157th Fighter Bomber Squadron Armament, including napalm, bombs, rockets, machine guns and small arms. This work was accomplished on F-51 aircraft that had already been sent to the war zone and had SCANG scrubbed from the side of the planes. These were the same aircraft on which Sgt. Golden had been working back at Congaree Air Base in Columbia. Upon returning to Columbia he was hospitalized in the Columbia VA Hospital for three months and released.

Whereupon, he approached Dean Sam Prince of the USC Law School requesting special dispensation to be allowed to attend law school without vacation and thus be able to graduate in two years rather then three or two and a half. The Dean grudgingly allowed him to become the first student to petition the law school to enter and while in law school he was awarded membership in Wig and Robe Honor Society, having begun in September 1952 and finished in September, 1954 with only one grade below a B. He was also elected by the faculty and editorial board as Editor-in-Chief of the South Carolina Law Review. He had already been elected president of his fraternity. After graduation, he had become very active in the University Theatre and had played many roles there as well as in Town Theatre and later he founded the Workshop Theatre and Columbia City Ballet as he began the practice of law. After law school, he practiced with Edens and Woodward and then Isadore Lourie, the late legendary State Senator, joined him as Golden and Lourie for the next four years.

On July 15, 1962, he married Heide Engelhart and they are the proud parents of three children and two grand children.
--

HARVEY L. GOLDEN

Trial Attorney in South Carolina for 50 continuous years with primary statewide practice in Family Law. Currently:

Recipient, American Bar Association, Lifetime Achievement Award-August, 2001;

Recipient, South Carolina Bar Association first Family Law Public Service Award-June, 1994;

Member, ABA House of Delegates (1990-2000) and its Nominating Committee (1996-1998);

Officer, Council Member, ABA Family Law Section (1984-2000);

Certified Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and member of its National Board of Governors;

Founding Fellow, (U.S. Chapter) International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers;

Diplomate, American College of Family Trial Lawyers (1989-);

Advocate, American Board of Trial Advocates;

Listed in "Best Lawyers in America" all five editions 1983-99.

Listed as one of the best forty-three Family Court Lawyers in the United States by National Law Journal, November 16, 1987;

Contributor to "Fair Share", "Matrimonial Strategist", "Trial" and "Family Advocate" National legal publications;

Author, S.C. Pre-Nuptial Agreement Statute;

Co-Author, S.C. Equitable Apportionment Act;

Co-Author: "Divorce", 13 S.C. Jurisprudence 63, 1992, and "Adultery and Fornication", 3 S.C. Jurisprudence 1, 1991;

Chairman, AAML Inter-Disciplinary Mental Health Committee;

Former Treasurer, International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (1990-1991);

Former National Chairman of American Bar Association Family Law Section 1987-1988) and Secretary, Vice Chair and Chair Elect (1984-1987);

Former President, South Carolina Chapter, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (4 Years)

Past Member, Nominating Committee, American Bar Association Conference of Section Chairmen;

Past Member, American Bar Association Law School Accreditation Team (1988). Formerly Contributing Editor on Family Law for the South Carolina Educational Television Network;

Member, South Carolina Bar Judicial Modernization Committee. Formerly one of five original appointees by the S.C.

Supreme Court on Family Law Specialization Advisory Board;

Former Chairman of the Family Law Section of the S.C. Bar.

Former Chairman of the S.C. Trial Lawyers Family Law Section. Program Participant, "Negotiations" American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 1983;

Producer-Moderator of the First Family law CLE program in South Carolina (1975) at the request of the SC Supreme Court;

Former member, Long Range Planning Committee and Scope and Correlation Committee, ABA Family Law Section;

Former Public Information Representative, ABA Family Law Section;

Frequent Family Law Faculty at: ABA National Institutes, Annual and mid-winter conventions and S.C. Mandatory Judicial C.L.E. programs. Frequent Lecturer on Family Law at USC College of Law, USC College of General Studies, Lutheran Southern Theological Seminary, CLE program speaker in: Atlanta, Connecticut, D.C., Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin Bar Association programs. Past Chairman of the Paternity Committee of the ABA, Family Law Section (1978-1981).

Recipient of the 1978 "Certificate of Outstanding Contribution" of ABA Family Law Section;

Participant, with Lawrence Stotter, Esq., in the "Great Custody Debate of 1980" presented by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Chicago, Illinois;

Former Special Judge appointee in Richland County, S.C. Juvenile-Domestic Relations Courts, County Civil Jury Courts, County Criminal Jury Courts (1965-1975);

Elected to the Debate Hall of Fame, University of South Carolina (1977);

Former Editor in Chief, S.C. Law Quarterly (1954);

Elected to Order of Wig and Robe. Legal Scholarship Society (1954);

Former Drama Critic, the State Newspaper, Columbia, South Carolina (1983-1987);

Past President, Congregation Beth Shalom, Columbia, S.C. (Two terms);

Co-Founder and Director, Workshop Theatre of South Carolina (1965-1981);

Co-Founder of Columbia City Ballet Company, Columbia, South Carolina (1962), Board of Directors (1962-1988).

U.S. Air Force Korean Combat Zone (1950-1952).