After devoting much of his adult life to public service, Freeman Bosley, Jr., now wants to serve the public by using his legal talent.
For the first time since graduating from Saint Louis University Law School, Bosley has opened his own legal firm, Bosley and Associates.
“I’m having a good time,” says Bosley, who now counts among the city’s newest black business owners.
“This is something that I always wanted to do. I never wanted to be at a point in life when I looked back and asked myself, ‘what if?’ I wanted to try it, and so far it has been great.”
Bosley has two partners in his office, including Annette Slack, who is a nurse and an attorney.
The firm handles personal injury, wrongful death and worker compensation cases and Bosley also does consutling work and legal counsel for private firms and civic causes.
Bosley will always be recognized as the city’s first African-American mayor. After one term, he was defeated by former Police Chief Clarence Harmon in the 1997 Democratic primary.
Bosley then joined Caldwell & Singleton and practiced with that firm for more than seven years.
He called his time with Worsham Caldwell, “a great experience.”
Bosley admits that it has been sometime since he tried a case before a judge and jury.
“It has been awhile. That’s why it is time,” he said.
The firm officially opened its doors last summer, and none of its cases have reached the trial stage. Once the courtroom drama begins, Bosley says he will play a prominent role.
“I’m looking forward to doing some opening and closing comments. I think I will be able to do well at that,” he said.
He said his firm will also be an incubator for young black legal professionals.
“We will strive to have young black attorneys working here. The practice will grow and associates will handle cases at meaningful levels.”
Born July 24, 1954, Bosley is the product of a political family. His father, Freeman Bosley, Sr., is one of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen’s most influential members.
His grandfather, Preston Bosley, was the son of a slave who moved to St. Louis from Little Rock. Preston Bosley helped establish the Yeatman Community Development Corp. and Yeatman Community Health Center, both of which remain vital institutions in the St. Louis community.
A 1972 graduate of Central High School, Bosley attended Saint Louis University and then its law school. He graduated in 1976 with two undergraduate degrees, a B.A. in Urban Affairs and a B.A. in Political Science.
He received his Juris Doctorate from Saint Louis University Law School in 1979 and served as president of the Black Student Alliance and the Black-American Law students Association.
His first legal service was with as a staff attorney for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, specializing in consumer affairs and utility companies. He would later join the law firm of Boast and Jordan.
But like others in his family, politics would be an attraction he could not resist.
Bosley then went on to become the first African-American St. Louis Circuit Clerk for the 22nd Judicial Circuit and would be elected mayor in spring 1993.
He ran unsuccessfully in 2001 for the Democratic nomination for mayor, and says he has no interest in returning to politics “for now.”
“I’ve accomplished the majority of what I want to do. There have been a lot of firsts for me in public service. Now I want to pursue things professionally,” Bosley said.
As for the 2005 mayoral race, Bosley says “I don’t have any intention” of running against incumbent Mayor Francis Slay, Jr.
“Somebody will come out of the woodwork somewhere,” Bosley said when asked about Slay’s possible black challenger.
He also didn’t completely rule out an upset in the election.
“On any given election, anything can happen,” he said.
During his term as mayor, Bosley also began the process of changing sections of the city’s charter that would streamline government and make the mayor a more powerful leader within the city’s political machinery.
That early work led to the Nov. 2 vote on four proposed charter changes. Bosley, and other living former mayors, championed the cause and worked diligently for passage.
However, the proposals were handily defeated.
“People were afraid of real change,” Bosley said.
“Some people want to make the outcome a reflection on the current and former mayors. In reality, we just didn’t do a good job of explaining what charter reform is.”
Bosley said some good has come from the effort.
“Now, everybody is talking about (charter reform,) even those people who were against it. Ultimately, that’s a good thing.
Bosley then started thumbing through a stack of phone messages.
“It’s about 50/50. I get just as many political calls as I do legal calls,” he said with a smile.
“It’s a mixed bag.”
