COLUMBIA, S.C. - Columbia attorney Clarence Davis has joined the board of the state-owned utility Santee Cooper, his law firm said Thursday.

Davis, a partner with Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, was appointed by the governor and has been approved by the Senate. He practices in the areas of business litigation, class-action defense and pharmaceutical and medical device litigation.

"Clarence has always been somebody I trust to make tough decisions," Gov. Mark Sanford said. "He's someone who is going to look out for the best interests of the taxpayers of this state, and the business perspective he brings to Santee Cooper is something that we're looking to extend throughout state government."

Davis, 47, is a member of the board of directors for the Palmetto Institute and the Central Carolina Community Foundation. He is a former member of Sanford's transition team and was chairman of the governor's economic development task force.

He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Law School and earned an undergraduate degree from USC.

Santee Cooper serves more than 138,000 retail customers in Berkeley, Horry and Georgetown counties and supplies power to the municipalities of Bamberg and Georgetown, 32 large industries, and Charleston Air Force Base.