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Robert W. (Bob) Oast, Jr.

Attorney with McGuire, Wood & Bissette Law Firm

Adjunct Professor, the Ohio State University

Bob is an attorney and a certified planner with more than 30 years of experience in local government and land use. He was the City Attorney for Asheville for over 17 years, retiring in 2013. He also worked as City Attorney in Greenville, NC, and as Assistant City Attorney in Wilmington, NC. From 2013-2016, Bob was an associate professor of practice in City and Regional Planning at The Ohio State University, where he taught law in the master’s degree program, and he still remains on the adjunct faculty. He has also served as adjunct faculty at East Carolina University and Western Carolina University. Bob has published articles in professional journals, including The Urban Lawyer, and regularly conducts presentations on land use issues at professional and academic conferences. He is currently Of Counsel with the law firm of McGuire, Wood & Bissette in Asheville, North Carolina.

Bob has been involved with the local and regional community in several ways, and is a member of the following professional organizations, having held leadership positions in several of them:

  • Lawyer on the Line (Legal Aid of NC telephone legal assistance)

  • American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)

  • National Association of Parliamentarians

  • American Bar Association (Past Chair, Economic Development)

  • NC Bar Association (Past Chair, Zoning Planning and Land Use Section)

  • American Planning Association (NC Chapter)

  • NC Municipal Attorneys Association (Past President)

  • Academic Advisory Council for Signage Research and Education

  • Admitted to practice in State and Federal Courts in North Carolina

Bob has represented clients before various boards and commissions, and in trial and appellate courts. He has been counsel or co-counsel in more than 20 reported appellate decisions.

  • Real Estate and Development

  • Local Government

Education

University of North Carolina (J.D., 1982)

Master of Regional Planning (Economic and Community Development, 1982)

Bachelor of Arts (English Literature, 1978)