Consultation with a lawyer in North Charleston Found 47

Marissa Fish received her J.D. from the University of Massachusetts School of Law-Dartmouth, where she graduated magma cum laude. Before Law school, Marissa received her M.S in Criminal Justice from Charleston Southern University. Having grown up in a military family and marrying into the military, Marissa has lived in many places. She was born in Maryland, but now calls South Carolina home, residing in the Aiken area with her husband.

Trip was born and raised in Charleston, SC. He graduated from the College of Charleston (B.A., 1992) and from Golden Gate University School of Law in California (J.D., 1999).

In 1998, Trip was selected into the Honors Program with the Department of Justice as a third year law student where he worked for the U.S. Attorneyâs Office in San Francisco and had the unique opportunity to prosecute cases in the drugs, guns and explosives unit.

After graduation and upon passing the California Bar, Trip worked in the legal department of Siebel Systems, Inc. in Silicon Valley where he negotiated and managed multi-million dollar software license contracts and handled intellectual property and litigation matters involving S&P 500 companies.

Upon returning to South Carolina in 2003 and passing the South Carolina Bar, Trip joined the Riesen Law Firm, LLP where he spent the next five (5) years handling Auto Accident cases, Workers' Compensation and Family Law.

Trip also gained valuable firsthand experience in eminent domain law after a personal experience when the Town of Mount Pleasant decided to fill in a portion of his neighborhood's lake to build a road. Trip successfully negotiated a compromise with the Town and developers, and the road was re-routed away from his neighborhood's lake. If a government agency is either physically taking your property or re-zoning or regulating your property which adversely affects the value of your property please contact Trip Riesen.

In 2008, Trip took action to substantially expand his legal skills. For the next three years, he focused his energy on criminal law and went to work for the Ninth Circuit Solicitorâs Office in Charleston. As a Managing Assistant Solicitor, he prosecuted a wide assortment of cases, from serious felonies such as murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking etcâ¦to less severe cases such as fraud, simple assaults, simple possession of drugs and DUI's.

Trip was a tough but fair prosecutor who not only secured hundreds of guilty pleas but also spent considerable time in court trying cases. In 2010, out of 31 Assistant Solicitors, Trip had the most cases called for trial. Trip's experience as a prosecutor has given him a unique insight into how the system works through the "prosecutor's eyes." This experience is a tremendous asset to his clients in representing defendants in all types of criminal prosecutions.

Trip is now back at the Riesen Law Firm LLP practicing in all areas of criminal defense, plaintiff's personal injury, workers' compensation, family law and eminent domain/condemnation land use law.

Ralitsa François was born in Livingston, New Jersey but spent most of her life in Buford, Georgia. She is the daughter and descendant of Haitian immigrants and is very proud of her Haitian heritage. Ralitsa graduated from Queens University of Charlotte, cum laude, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with minors in Pre-Law and Psychology. There, she balanced being a student-athlete where she served as an executive member of the National Political Science Honor Society, Pi Sigma Alpha, and was a co-captain and member of the Queens University of Charlotte Cheerleading Team.

After college, Ralitsa worked in the trucking and logistics industry as an account executive for XPO Logistics. There, Ralitsa further developed her leadership and professional skills by leading teams of logistics coordinators in tracking major loads across the country. This experience ultimately sharpened her communication skills as she interacted daily with demanding trucking companies, their drivers, and customers like Amazon and USPS.

Following this brief “break,” Ralitsa then went on to attend the Charleston School of Law—she graduated cum laude and was in the Top 11% of her class in 2021. During law school, she was a Presidential Honors Scholar; an assistant editor of the maritime journal, the Maritime Law Bulletin (MALABU); and a member of the Keith J. Williams Chapter of the National Black Law Student Society and the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Society.

Ralitsa takes pride in her Haitian culture, how she was raised, and the many experiences she has had in life thus far. She believes they all contribute to who she is today and have allowed her to have a fair yet empathetic gaze on life, people of all walks, and their issues. Ralitsa joined The Derrick Law Firm in 2021 and is excited to help clients with their

Andrew Copenhaver devotes his practice to the representation of individuals and families harmed by defective products, motor vehicle accidents, nursing home abuse and neglect, premises injuries and other incidents involving negligence in products liability, personal injury and wrongful death cases. Mr. Copenhaver currently serves as counsel in several catastrophic and fatal injury cases throughout Georgia and South Carolina and is responsible for all aspects of litigation from initial pleadings to trial. He is also involved in several class actions in Georgia and states throughout the country.

Prior to joining Bell & Brigham, Mr. Copenhaver clerked for the Honorable Dudley H. Bowen, Jr., United States District Judge forthe Southern District of Georgia. In this capacity he gained valuable experience writing complex legal memoranda and, under the tutelage of Judge Bowen, gained valuable wisdom of what works in the courtroom.

Upon the completion of his clerkship with Judge Bowen, Mr. Copenhaver worked at a South Carolina plaintiff's firm where he represented individuals injured in a fatal bus crash in Tunica, Mississippi, individuals harmed in truck accidents, and the family of a young man who was fatally injured by a defective tire. He and his wife, a history and social studies teacher at Augusta Prep, then returned to the strong family ties of Augusta. He is the nephew of Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver and the grandson of the late Bill Copenhaver, former Chairman and CEO of Columbia Nitrogen. Outside of work, Mr. Copenhaver and his wife enjoy fishing, hunting and boating on the Savannah River with their Chocolate Lab Roo.