Partner

Patrick M. Killen was born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina. He is a graduate of T.L. Hanna High School. After high school, Patrick enlisted in the United States Air Force. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1991 then attended Clemson University on the GI Bill. Following his graduation from Clemson University in 1995, Patrick earned his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1998.

Upon graduating from Law School, Patrick joined Jones, Seth & Shuler, LLP in 1998. Patrick was elevated to partner in 2002 and the firm then became known as Jones, Seth, Shuler & Killen, LLP. Patrick was an associate at McGowan, Hood, and Felder, LLC from 2011-2020. In November 2020, Patrick joined with Frank Shuler to form Shuler Killen Law Firm in January 2021.

Patrick’s practice areas include criminal and civil Litigation, Workers Compensation, Personal Injury, and Immigration. Patrick is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He is licensed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and the United States Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit.

Patrick and his wife Robin enjoy spending time with their three daughters and grandson. They are active members of Christ Community Church in Sumter. In his free time, Patrick enjoys boating and attending Clemson football games.

Office Manager

With over thirty-two years of banking and legal experience behind her, Ginger Bloomer brings a wealth of knowledge to the firm. She and Frank have worked together since 1995 and have built a supportive relationship that benefits the clients who have entrusted the firm with their legal work. Ginger works diligently to ensure that the clients’ needs are met in a timely manner, and is always accessible by telephone or email. She is personally invested in making sure that the firm lives up to the outstanding reputation it has in the community.

Ginger and her husband, Randy, who is retired from the US Air Force, are both natives of upstate South Carolina and are proud to now call Sumter home. They have lived in the Sumter area since their marriage, except for a four-year tour overseas at RAF Bentwaters, England. She has two grown children, Jennifer and Nick, a daughter-in-law, Jennifer, and four beautiful grandchildren, Phoenix, Olivia, Nora, and Benjamin.

Associate Attorney

Rebecca Wade is focused on providing excellent service for our firm’s clients in the area of business transactions. She is responsible for assisting our clients with commercial real estate purchases and sales, the purchasing and sale of businesses, entity formations, and all things related to business transactional law. She also devotes her energies to assisting our clients with business succession plans.

Rebecca graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in Psychology in 2014. She graduated from The Charleston School of Law, summa cum laude, in 2020. She was admitted to the practice of law in South Carolina Bar in 2020. Rebecca joined Shuler Killen Law Firm in January of 2021.

Rebecca is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association, South Carolina Women Lawyer’s Association, and the Sumter County Bar.

Rebecca was born, raised and resides in St. George. She is married to Trey Wade and they have four children. She spends her time chasing her sons’ athletic events and pagents with her daughter.

Attorney

Education:

• University of Wyoming College of Law
  • Juris Doctorate
• Colorado State University
  • BS Animal Science
  • BS Agricultural Business

Legal Licensure:

• South Carolina
• Colorado
• US District Court, District of Colorado

Personal:

Enjoys spending time with family and being outdoors. Parishioner of St. Anne and St. Jude Roman Catholic Church.

Attorney

Jacob H. Dippold (“Jake”) is a native of Syracuse, NY and lives in Sumter, SC with his wife Jana Marie. He graduated from Wofford College and received a BA in English (Film) and Government (American Politics) in 2021. While at Wofford, Jake competed in the Southern Conference as a Division One Baseball Player for four years and was cabinet member (team captain) for two of those. His athletic honors and awards include a 2021 SoCon Championship, 4X Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll recipient, and 2021 Academic All-Conference. Jake also had the privilege of holding leadership positions as the President of the Pre-Law Society, Vice-Chairman of the Republicans Society, a leader of the Orientation Staff, and a Prosecutor for the Honor Council. Jake produced and directed a capstone short film that received the Best Screenplay Award at the WoCo Film Festival.

Jake earned his Juris Doctorate at Elon School of Law in Greensboro, NC. At Elon, Jake was a Dean Scholar, served as a Leadership Fellow, on the Moot Court Board, the President of the Military Law Society, the Secretary of the First-Generation Lawyer Society, a member of the Federalist Society, and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Lawyers. During his time at Law School Jake also gave back to his community by coaching baseball at a local middle school and giving baseball lessons at a private academy.

Jake’s practice areas include Criminal and Civil Litigation, DUI Defense, Workers Compensation, and Personal Injury.

Jake is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association, the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyer’s Division, the South Carolina Association for Justice, the Greater Business Network, and the Young Professionals of Sumter. He is licensed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina and the United States Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit.

Jake serves on the board for Battle Buddies of the Carolinas, a non-profit organization that raises Golden Retriever dogs and trains them as service dogs for veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injuries.

Jake, his wife Jana Marie, and their black lab Hank love living in Sumter. Jake and Jana Marie are active members of Alice Drive Baptist Church in Sumter. At Alice Drive Jake co-leads a Men’s Ministry “Alice Drive Men”. In his free time, Jake enjoys golfing, running, swimming, reading history, and watching just about any sporting event, especially the Yankees and Gamecocks. Jake is also a published author, having released his first book, “Mentally Tough Christians,” in April 2024.

Paralegal

Amy B. Vohs is a life-long resident of Sumter and has twenty years of legal experience. She joined the firm in 2018 after working for Richard (“DicK”) L. Booth for thirteen years. She has a wealth of knowledge in the real estate law field. Amy graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and Central Carolina Technical College with an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies. Amy is the lead paralegal for the residential real estate department and is responsible for ensuring that closings are done correctly, efficiently and on time.

In her free time, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband, Brad, and their daughter, Sydnie, traveling all over the Southeast for her athletic events.

Legal Assistant

Michelle B. Ferzley was the Administrative Assistant to the Sumter County Master in Equity Court for over 11 years. She also has 7 years of mortgage lending experience. She recently joined the firm after working for Judge Richard “Dick” L. Booth, then Judge Howard P. King. Michelle graduated from Hillcrest High School and has an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice from Kaplan University. Michelle is currently the assistant to Paralegal, Amy B. Vohs in our Real Estate Department.

Michelle comes from a military family and has been a resident of Sumter most of her life. She has a daughter, Autumn Lea Ferzley whom she enjoys spending time with.

Paralegal

Alyssa joined Shuler Killen Law Firm as an intern in December 2020, beginning her career at the firm as the receptionist, and she has continued to grow with our firm. Alyssa earned her Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies from Central Carolina Technical College, and after completing her internship, she was hired permanently to become an integral part of the Residential Real Estate team. The residential team, under the supervision of Amy Vohs, has benefited greatly from Alyssa’s work ethic and enthusiasm for her job. In her free time, Alyssa enjoys spending time with her daughter, Rylee, and her four furbabies.

Executive Assistant

Leanna A. Whitaker is the executive assistant to Patrick M. Killen, the litigation managing partner. Her professional portfolio includes a variety of fields: hospitality, training, and development, property management, and, most recently, our general practice. Leanna graduated from the University of South Carolina, Columbia with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology & Criminal Justice. She joined our firm in March of 2021 and has since dedicated her professional time to rounding out our litigation department. While her focus is personal injury, Leanna assists Patrick in his day-to-day duties such as client intake, court coordination, file management and general litigation efforts. Leanna uses her organization and problem-solving skills to ensure case files are active and clients are well-informed.

When not spending time with her husband and their two boys, she enjoys visiting family and friends, reading, listening to music, and painting.

Immigration Specialist

Molly Stiles is the Immigration Specialist at Shuler Killen Law Firm. Joining us in August 2023, Molly is one of the newer members to our firm, but she has worked in professional spaces that require the kind of care and consideration that our clients deserve for almost a decade.

Molly has a Bachelor of Arts degree from North Greenville University (NGU), where she developed her long-standing interest in language, cultures, and service. This interest led her to study Spanish in addition to her major courses and included living in Honduras for five weeks. Following her undergraduate graduation in 2015, Molly returned home to Bishopville, SC and later made a permanent move to Sumter, SC, where she worked various jobs until she was hired as an Administrative Specialist at Central Carolina Technical College (CCTC) in 2018. In 2022, Molly was promoted to Student Services Coordinator in another department at CCTC. Before she left CCTC in early 2023 for a position at the South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH), Molly also graduated with honors from Capella University with a Master of Science degree in 2020 and earned a professional certification as a Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) in 2021. Molly spent six months as Program Coordinator for the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at SCDMH before the commute to Columbia, SC took its toll and she wanted to work more directly with clients in her own communities. Molly hopes that her verifiable work ethic and passion for serving others and the careful consideration she infuses in her work will be used to achieve our immigration clients’ desired outcome wherever possible. Additionally, Molly hopes that her Spanish continues to improve; it has been several years since her Spanish skills have been exercised!

In her free time, Molly enjoys going to concerts with her husband, spoiling her nieces with gifts, taking excessive pictures and videos of her two cats, and meeting her family and friends to enjoy good food (not cooked by her).

Executive Assistant

Elise is the executive assistant for Frank M. Shuler and Erin J. O. McArthur. Originally hailing from Northeast Texas, Elise attended Mississippi State University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English. After graduating in 2013, Elise moved to South Korea where she taught English as a language for two years. There, she met her husband and eventually moved to California with him where she worked as a restaurant server until ultimately pursuing a career as a realtor. A few years, four pets, and one baby later, Elise and her family moved back to South Korea for her husband’s job in the United States Air Force. After two years in Asia the Simmons family returned to the U.S. and arrived in Sumter at the beginning of 2024. Through a series of happy coincidences, Elise met managing partner Frank Shuler and ended up joining the Shuler Killen Law Firm team in May of 2024. As a legal assistant, Elise focuses on client intake, file management, and other administrative duties to ensure a seamless client experience. In her time away from the office she pursues photography, writing, gardening, animal care for her pets, and creating a life of joy with her family.

Legal Assistant

Helping others is a significant aspect of her life, and she finds it fulfilling to use language to have a positive impact. Haidee loves to volunteer and has worked with various organizations, including United Ministries, Misawa AFB Tax Center, and The Cooperative Ministry as a tax specialist, as well as St. Anne and St. Jude Catholic Church, where she is an active parishioner.

Outside of work, Haidee is a busy mother of two boys.

Her favorite activities include spending time with family, cooking, reading, watching sunrises and sunsets, watching baseball, and photography.