Biographical Information
Laura was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Decatur, Georgia. She attended Duke University, graduating magna cum laude in 1975, with a B.A. in French literature and language. At Duke, she was an Angier B. Duke Scholar. She began her trust career in 1976, as assistant to David Massey, a tax lawyer and certified specialist in estate planning and probate currently practicing in Greenville, SC. Massey served as a Vice President &Trust Officer in the Personal Trust Department of Bankers Trust of South Carolina (a predecessor company to U.S. Trust/Bank of America Private Wealth Management). Laura transferred to Charleston in 1977 when her first husband began practicing law. She managed trusts and estates for the Charleston, Beaufort, and Hilton Head Island offices.
Laura held this position until 1983, when she was recruited by South Carolina National Bank (now known as Wells Fargo Trust) to serve as a senior trust administrator and estate settlement officer. She worked at SCN for ten years before moving to NationsBank (Bank of America) in 1993 to be the City Manager of the Charleston Personal Trust Office, a position she held for five years. In that role, she supervised the department's estate settlement process, and also the management of trust and investment advisory accounts. At NationsBank, she met and married Tyre Moore, who subsequently served as South Carolina State Manager for Synovus Trust (NBSC). Tyre's final role at Synovus was as Executive Vice President and Regional Market Executive prior to retiring in 2020.
After leaving banking in 1998, Laura worked for Bobby Pearlman, a certified specialist in taxation, and had the further honor of working with his father, the Honorable Gus H. Pearlman, our former Charleston County Probate Judge, until his retirement from practice, both at Haynsworth, Marion, McKay & Guerard, and at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd. She moved with Bobby in 2001 when he resumed practicing as Pearlman & Pearlman, P.C. as his probate paralegal and office manager, working with him for five years.
In 2003, Laura returned downtown to work at Evans, Carter, Kunes & Bennett, P.A., supporting the firm's tax lawyers in the administration of trusts and estates, until 2007. These wonderful lawyers, Andrew Chandler in particular, encouraged Laura to continue her education at The Charleston School of Law. She received a merit scholarship and graduated summa cum laude in May of 2010, earning other academic honors as well.
During law school, Laura clerked at The Steinberg Law Firm, and also at Rosen Hagood, gaining valuable experience in other areas of the law, including workers compensation, tort law claims, and complex civil litigation. She was research assistant to Professor Miller W. Shealy, Jr., co-author of Criminal Procedure for South Carolina Practitioners. Laura completed her first year in private practice as an associate at Warren & Sinkler, L.L.P., working with Scott Barnes, now at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, one of the authors of South Carolina Limited Liability Companies and Limited Partnerships, Fourth Edition, and Mark Sharpe, now at Burr & Forman, in the areas of real estate law, commercial drafting, creditor's rights, business associations, corporate governance, and taxation. She has experience in many areas beyond trust and estates, and knows where to find specialized resources when they are needed.
Laura is a member of the S. C. Bar Association, the Charleston County Bar Association, the Real Property and Trust and Estate Section of the American Bar Association, The South Carolina Women Lawyers Association, and is a current member and past President of the Charleston Estate Planning Council. She is AV peer rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Laura has four children, ranging in age from 29 to 41, all of whom have grown up in Charleston and were educated in Charleston County public schools. She has a four year old grandson and two year old granddaughter in Charleston, and a four year old granddaughter of dual citizenship who lives in Germany. She has a long history of community involvement and volunteerism. She has buried both of her parents. She knows what matters to families, and she will care for your family as her own.
