Charles has a law degree and a MBA from the University of South Carolina, and he has a Masters of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. Charles graduated with many academic accomplishments and later wrote and published a best-selling law school guide called How to Crush Law School.
Charles began his legal career as a federal law clerk in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, where he clerked for the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. After that, Charles clerked for the Honorable David R. Duncan at the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina. After clerking for two Federal Judges, Charles worked in a variety of practice areas, including dental malpractice and personal injury. Now, Charles focuses his time and efforts on all sorts of personal injury claims.
Charles is a native of South Carolina. Charles’ father, Dr. Buist, is a dentist, and he raised Charles alone. Therefore, Charles spent a lot of time in a dentist office while he was growing up, and he started working as a dental assistant at an early age. Charles saw many horrific cases where patients would come to Dr. Buist after being injured by another dentist. He witnessed many patients who were harmed by careless or reckless dentists. As a result, Charles became very passionate about dental malpractice and protecting dental patients.
Charles went to the College of Charleston for his undergraduate degree, and he comes from a long line of Charleston, South Carolina attorneys. In fact, the Buist family started one of the oldest law firms in Charleston in the 1800s. The firm was called Buist & Buist, but it later changed names in the 1970s after merging with another law firm and eventually became Buist, Moore, Smythe & McGee. Although Charles considered moving back to Charleston many times, he and his wife ultimately fell in love with Orlando, Florida. After law school, Charles visited his law school roommate, Nick Spetsas, in Orlando for a New Years weekend and absolutely fell in love with the area. The parks, the people, the beauty and the year-round sunshine make Orlando the perfect location for Charles and his family, and they are proud to call Orlando their home.
Charles' Family
Charles is married to Alexa Buist, and they currently have one little baby boy, Charles R. Buist III. Charles met Alexa at the University of South Carolina in August 2017, and they got married in March 2020. They were blessed with little Charlie in December 2021. He’s a wild little baby, and he loves eating, sleeping and pulling out daddy’s chest hair.
Charles and Alexa met in the gym at the University of South Carolina. They both love fitness and adventure, and when they aren’t spending time with their little boy, they enjoy traveling, hiking, fitness and anything outdoors. They really love the beaches in Florida, and Charles likes freshwater fishing when he has the opportunity.
Academic Honors
• Research Editor for South Carolina Law Review
• CALI Award in Criminal Procedure
• CALI Award in Federal Income Taxation
• CALI Award in Advanced Legal Writing
• CALI Award in Legal Research, Analysis and Writing
• Dean’s List all Semesters
• Order of the Wig and Robe
• Student Bar Association Elected Representative (All Semesters)
Hobbies and Content
Charles enjoys making creative content and writing. After law school, Charles had a long list of things he wished he’d known before entering law school. As a result, Charles wrote and published a book called How to Crush Law School: Graduate at the Top of Your Class and Land the Job of Your Dreams. The book quickly jumped to the top of Amazon’s law school guide category.
Charles also launched a podcast to help law students where he interviewed various top law school performers and recorded various episodes relevant to law school success. The podcast is called the Elite Lawschooler Podcast.
Finally, Charles enjoys self-improvement books, graphic design and animation. He found a way to bring those passions together with his YouTube channel, MentalEFit, where he created animated book summaries of his favorite books. In the process of making this content, Charles became very proficient with animation software, and now he uses those skills to teach clients about personal injury law and produce content for Spetsas Buist PLLC.
