Robinson Bradshaw Attorney Appointed to South Carolina State Advisory Committee by U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Angelique R. Vincent, an attorney with Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A., has been appointed to the South Carolina State Advisory Committee by the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Vincent, a resident of Fort Mill, S.C., was nominated to serve on the committee by U.S. Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C.

The United States Commission on Civil Rights is a bipartisan, independent commission of the federal government charged with the responsibility of investigating, reporting on, and making recommendations concerning civil rights issues that face the nation. The Commission has 51 State Advisory Committees composed of citizens familiar with civil rights issues.

Vincent is a member of the firm’s Litigation Department and Employment & Labor Practice Group. Vincent has extensive legal experience in a variety of areas relative to federal and state anti-discrimination work. She concentrates her practice on employment counseling, litigation prevention and active litigation, including a wide range of work relating to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Additionally, Vincent regularly appears before federal administrative agencies such as the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, state deferral agencies charged with investigating employee complaints of discrimination, and the United States and North Carolina Departments of Labor.

Vincent routinely assists employers in policy development and implementation, conducting internal investigations of employee complaints, and providing preventative training to employees and managers on topics such as anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws and best employment practices. Vincent also serves as a third-party mediator for parties in employment disputes prior to and during litigation.

“I think we all have a personal responsibility to ensure that civil rights and equality are granted to everyone in society, regardless of differences, such as race, color, sex, age, disability, religion, national origin or socio-economic class,” Vincent said. “However, based on my background, I have a particular interest in ensuring equal opportunity and inclusion for minorities and women within the education system, their communities and the workplace. Additionally, I think equality in our criminal justice system is critical to the integrity of the system. That applies at every stage – from traffic stops, arrests, criminal charges, access to representation, trials and sentencing. Research suggests that there are some real disparities in our current system. People who commit the same crime potentially have very different experiences within the same system – depending in large measure on their race, gender, economic status and other factors that should have no bearing.”

Vincent devotes her time to a large number of nonprofit and pro bono legal projects for various agencies in the community, including the Center for Community Transitions, Inc. (“CCT”) which is a nonprofit organization committed to providing support, employment and transition assistance to individuals with criminal records so that they may reenter and become productive, self-sustaining members of the community. Vincent serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the Personnel Committee of CCT. She also serves on the Boards of Directors for Charlotte Emergency Housing and Crisis Assistance Ministry. Vincent earned her law degree from Harvard Law School and completed her undergraduate work at Duke University, where she graduated summa cum laude.

Within Robinson Bradshaw, Vincent is a co-chair of the firm’s Inclusion Committee and a member of the Recruiting Committee. She also has served as an adjunct professor of sociology at Clinton Junior College in Rock Hill, S.C.