About Charles
Charles Buist built a legal path that crosses courts and disciplines. He began his academic journey at the College of Charleston, where he studied pre-med, neuroscience and psychology and earned a Bachelor of Science in 2010. He later pursued legal training at Vermont Law School and the University of South Carolina School of Law, and completed a business degree at the University of South Carolina–Columbia.
Buist moved into federal court service early in his career. He served as a judicial law clerk in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina in 2017. The following year he worked as a clerk for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina. Those clerkships offered daily exposure to civil procedure, evidentiary questions and complex case management. They also provided a close view of how trial courts and bankruptcy courts handle disputes and deadlines.
After his clerkships, Buist entered private practice and began representing clients on a range of matters. He founded Buist Law Office, LLC in 2020 and operated that practice before taking on a managing lawyer role at Spetsas Buist PLLC in 2022. That sequence reflects a shift from solo practice to a leadership role within a small firm setting. Along the way he obtained admission to practice in multiple jurisdictions, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as federal admission in the District of South Carolina, the Eastern District of North Carolina and the Fourth Circuit.
His background combines technical and legal study. The undergraduate focus on neuroscience and psychology intersects with later work on land use and toxic torts during graduate legal study. The additional business training provides grounding in commercial and transactional issues, an asset when counseling clients or managing a practice.
Colleagues describe Buist as methodical in court filings and attentive in client work. He has experience across litigation phases—from initial pleadings and discovery to motion practice in both district and bankruptcy settings. That practical exposure informs how he approaches case strategy and client communications.
In private practice he handles matters that draw on his litigation and regulatory experience. He is admitted in state and federal courts across the Southeast and argues procedural and substantive issues at trial and on motion. He currently serves as a managing lawyer at Spetsas Buist PLLC, where his work centers on litigation and related practice areas.
