The City of Demopolis elected Bill Poole its new city attorney Friday morning. Poole takes over for Rick Manley who is retiring from the position, effective immediately.

“Rick Manley set a high standard and worked very hard for the City of Demopolis,” Poole said. “I will work hard to do the same.”

Poole is a familiar face in Marengo County law circuits. A native of Birmingham, Poole opened his law office in Demopolis in 1979.

“I actually rented my first office space from Rick Manley,” he said. “I guess you could say he kind of helped me get my feet on the ground.”

Poole, who holds a juris doctorate from the University of Alabama, said representing the city is not a great departure from representing an individual and that he was looking forward to the challenge.

“All legal problems are basically the same,” he said. “You find the facts, you build your case and you apply the law to it.”