MYRTLE BEACH, SC – Sixth Circuit Deputy Public Defender William Frick was named by his peers on Monday as the 2019 South Carolina Public Defender of the Year at the South Carolina Public Defender Association Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach.
Frick has served as Deputy Public Defender for the Sixth Circuit since the office was established in 2009. In that capacity, he has represented criminal defendants in Chester, Lancaster and Fairfield counties, the counties that make up the Sixth Judicial Circuit.
“I am so happy for William. This honor is well deserved,” said Michael H. Lifsey, Chief Public Defender for the Sixth Circuit. “In addition to handling some of the most difficult cases in our office, William has helped manage our office as it has grown from five part time lawyers in early 2009 to a staff of ten full time attorneys plus support staff today,” Lifsey said. “We now have full time staff and offices open in the courthouses of Chester, Lancaster, and Fairfield counties and we fight every day to make sure the constitutional rights of our citizens are protected. We could not do that without William’s leadership.”
A resident of Winnsboro, Frick is a 1993 graduate of Fairfield Central High School and received his bachelor’s degree and Master of International Business degree from the University of South Carolina. He is a 2000 graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law. Frick and his wife Elena live in Winnsboro with their daughter. In addition to his duties as a public defender, Frick also serves as the Chairman of the Fairfield County School Board of Trustees.