Spartanburg City Attorney Bob Coler explains a point to the City Council on March 23 before stepping down. Photo courtesy of the City of Spartanburg.
If you are in the legal profession and have ever wondered what it is like to work for a city government, you might have a chance to find out.
The City of Spartanburg is seeking an experienced, principled, and service-oriented legal professional to serve as its next City Attorney.
To qualify, applicants must have the following:
• A Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school and considerable professional legal experience in government, administrative, property, contract, environmental and employment law; or any equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Recognition as a member in good standing of the State of South Carolina Bar Association and licensed to practice law by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
• All prerequisites for meeting continuing legal education requirements and actively representing clients in court in the state of South Carolina must be met prior to employment and must be kept current.
The deadline for applying is April 24, and all candidates may apply on the City’s website: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/spartanburgsc.
City Council’s ultimate choice will replace outgoing City Attorney Bob Coler, who stepped down on March 27 to “take some time off to spend with family and then open a small private law firm.”
Coler’s departure not only came after serving the city since December 2018, but leaves a considerable void, as he helped City leaders navigate some precarious moments during and after COVID, including:
• Hate crimes ordinance approval in 2025. Coler advised the members of City Council that the ordinance was not only ‘constitutionally sound,’ but that it would not infringe on First Amendment rights.
• 2023 ordinance amendment which: prohibits the discharging of firearms in the city.
• 2021 ordinance amendment providing for: the issuance of organized event and picketing permits, and to provide for a prohibition of the open carry of firearms during organized events and pickets on public property.
• 2025-26 moving and rebuilding of the City Clock Tower. Public feeling on this issue was nothing short of an outcry, pending the tower being torn down in late 2025. Coler not only worked with public officials for its rebuilding in a prominent place, but in doing so helped turned much of the public outcry into a progressive solution.
“There were many important challenges,” he said, “whether they were big newsworthy issues, or small issues that never made the news but impacted people.”
When asked why he was stepping down after 28 years in public service, he simply said the time was right to “give private law practice a try.”
“I am excited to be able to give individual clients all of my focus, energy, and time as they face legal challenges that can be frustrating, anxiety inducing, and downright scary.”
The same could also be said for his replacement just coming in.
But regardless of whom the City chooses as his successor, Coler offered this his one piece of advice: “Listen.”
“Then listen some more before making decisions or setting a course for resolving an issue,” he said. “There are often many sides of a City legal issue. There are residents, visitors, investors, home owners, renters, businesses owners, etc who may be impacted by a city’s decision. You cannot gather too much information.”
