Before practicing law, Charlie worked for Raytheon Corporation for 19 years in business positions of procurement, subcontracts, manufacturing operations and program management. He was responsible for the performance of multi-miliion dollar programs with customers including the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy, McDonnell Douglas, Motorola, RCA and others in the defense contracting industry. Charlie focuses his practice on complex commercial business litigation, representing businesses and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants, putting to use the long and succesful business experience he developed during a 19-year professional business career with Raytheon.  Charlie has represented business owners, contractors, real estate developers, doctors and other professionals, and employees, in business litigation matters. Charlie also practices appellate law for his own cases and for cases tried by other attorneys, when trial court outcomes are in error.

Charlie was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2000.  He is admitted to practice before the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida (2003), Southern District of Florida (2012), Northern District of Florida (2018) and the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (2003). Charlie has also tried cases to judgment in adversary proceedings in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida. He is admitted to practice law in all of the state trial and appellate courts of the State of Florida

Charlie was named a Rising Star in 2010 by Florida Superlawyers.com, and he is listed in Cambridge Registry’s Who’s Who.  He is a member of The Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, and the St. Petersburg Bar Association.

Charlie received a B.S. in Marketin from Florida State University in 1978.  He was awarded a J.D. with high honors from St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami, Florida,  in 1999.  In law school, Charlie served on the moot court team and on the St. Thomas Law Review as articles editor.  His published articles include: “A Constitutional Conundrum; Juvenile Curfew Challenges in the Federal Courts” 11 STULR 395 (1999), and “The Final Rule on Contractor Responsibility” XII The Clause 6 (The Board of Contract Appeals Bar Assoc.)(2001).

His reported cases include:

• Reinstein v. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition of Florida, P.A., 25 So. 3d 54 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
• Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, P.A. v. Forier, 19 So. 3d 452 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
• Paul Gottlieb & Co., Inc. v. Alps South Corp., 985 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
• Florida Lifestyles Realty, Inc. v. Goodwin, 917 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)

Charlie has been married to his wife Louanne since 1981, and they have four sons: Copley (Cecily), Brett (Sarah), Patrick and William.  He served as Coach, Manager, Board Member and President of Northwest Youth Baseball from 1989 to 2010. He has been a parishoner at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle since 1963, where he served as a member and chairman of the Pastoral Council from 2007 to 2010. Charlie served as a Board Member and President of a Brighter Day of Pinellas County from 2004 to 2011, and is an active supporter of Family Promise of Pinellas County. He served as an Executive Board Member of the St. Petersburg Bar Association from 2008 to 2011.

In 2011, Charlie was elected as a City of St. Petersburg Councilman representing District 1, and he was re-elected to another four year term in 2015.  Charlie has served on City Council as Chair of the City Council, Chair of the Budget, Finance and Taxation Committee, Chair of the Co-sponsored Events Committee, member of the Public Services & Infrastructure Committee, Housing Committee and Social Action Funding Committee.