Former City of Greensboro Attorney Tom Carruthers has a new job in local government: Carruthers, who resigned from the city attorney position with Greensboro in the fall of 2018, has now taken a job working as an assistant county attorney for Guilford County government.
Carruthers, who started work with the county on Monday, May 6, will be handling legal matters in the Guilford County Sherriff’s Department. His office will be in the Otto Zenke building, which currently serves as the Sheriff’s Department’s administrative headquarters until a new headquarters can be built. In that capacity, he will work under Guilford County Sheriff’s Department Attorney Jim Secor and ultimately answer to Guilford County Attorney Mark Payne.
Carruthers, a graduate of Grimsley High School, Duke University and Campbell University law school, worked for years in private practice and as a Guilford County assistant district attorney before taking a job with the City of Greensboro’s law office in 2009. In 2014, Carruthers was named as the city attorney after the resignation of the previous city attorney.
Greensboro is a local government that always seems to manage to have one or more high-profile legal matters of some sort in the news at any given time, while the Guilford County Attorney’s Office, on the other hand, keeps a very low profile and, no doubt, likes it that way.
Last year, in late September, Carruthers turned in his resignation to the City of Greensboro and on Tuesday, Oct. 2 the Greensboro City Council voted unanimously to accept that resignation.
At that time, Carruthers didn’t go into detail as to the reasons behind his decision, however, he did make a public statement in a press release. It read: “The last four years have been the highlight of my career to date and I am proud of my accomplishments and those of the entire staff. It has been an honor to serve City Council and the residents of Greensboro. I am excited for my next challenge but I will always cherish my experience with the City of Greensboro.”
Carruthers excelled in history at Grimsley and was the winner of the school’s Advanced Placement History Award before pursuing his legal career. When not practicing law, he enjoys restoring old cars, watching Duke basketball and conducting massive do-it-yourself home renovation projects.
