S.C. App. Ct. R. 11
Members of the Commission, hearing officers, and Commission counsel shall not engage in ex parte communications regarding a case, except that before making a determination to file formal charges in a case pursuant to Rule 19(d)(2), members of the investigative panel assigned to that case may communicate with disciplinary counsel as required to perform their duties in accordance with these rules and the chair and vice chair may entertain requests for permissive disclosure pursuant to Rule 12(c) and requests for subpoenas for investigation pursuant to Rule 15(b)(1) made by disciplinary counsel without notice to the lawyer. Where disciplinary counsel makes a request to the chair or vice chair pursuant to either Rule 12(c) or 19(b)(1) without notice to the lawyer, the request shall so state and set forth the reason that notice is not being given. Ex parte communications shall include any communication which would be prohibited by Section 3B(7) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Rule 501, SCACR, if engaged in by a judge.
S.C. App. Ct. R. 11