Ms. Haley was earning a salary of just $22,000 as a part-time state legislator. Wilbur Smith executives regarded Ms. Haley as overqualified for the accounting job. But because of her wide-ranging network, they would later say, they put Ms. Haley on a retainer, asking her to scout out potential new business. She never found any, a top executive later said. But they also led her into an ethical gray area that tarnished her first term as South Carolina’s governor.

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Persons: Nikki Haley, Michael Haley, Haley, Wilbur Smith, overqualified Organizations: Wilbur Smith Associates Locations: South Carolina