Partner
Charles E. Harris, II
Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Class Actions & Aggregate Litigation, Securities Litigation & Enforcement
Overview
Charles E. Harris, II, dual-qualified in the United States and United Kingdom, helps clients with international litigation matters of paramount importance to the business community, including class actions, antitrust, contract and real estate-related disputes, technology-related disputes, administrative actions, and privacy and cybersecurity. For instance, Charles has successfully defended individual and class action suits under the TCPA, AIPA, FCRA, FDCPA, and state consumer protection statutes and defended data breach lawsuits under the CFAA and Stored Communications Act. He has also defended clients in administrative actions before agencies such as the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation and the Illinois Department of Revenue. Charles has also handled many First Amendment cases alleging defamation and other privacy torts, and as a registered patent attorney, he has litigated IP disputes. Charles has prepared matters for trial, tried cases to completion, and represented clients on appeal in federal and state courts.
Experience
- Munguia v. State of Illinois. Represented the Regional Transportation Authority of northeastern Illinois in a Title VI class action discrimination lawsuit brought by minority riders of the Chicago Transit Authority.
- Gunartt v. Rent-A-Center. Served as lead counsel in successfully representing the nation’s largest rent-to-own company in an action seeking to invalidate the company’s consumer arbitration clause.
- LaCost v. Roddy, Leahy, Guill & Zima. Served as lead counsel representing 10 defendants, including a 50-year-old soccer club, in a much publicized action alleging defamation and other business torts.
- Billingnetwork v. LOGITBIT. Served as lead co-counsel for a software company in a patent infringement matter alleging that the company’s enterprise software infringes a patent covering a billing system.
Education
- Cleveland State University College of Law, JD, summa cum laude
Associate and Managing Editor, Cleveland State Law Review - North Carolina Central University, MS in Biology, summa cum laude
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BS
Admissions
- Illinois
- New York
- England and Wales
- US Patent and Trademark Office
Courts
- US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
- US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
- US Patent and Trademark Office
Professional & Community Involvement
- County Commissioner, Cook County Commission on Human Rights (2013-present)
- Board Member, Victory Gardens Theater (2014-present)
- Board Member, Heartland Human Care Services (2012-present)
- Board Member, Chicago Committee on Large Law Firms (2013-present)
- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated (1993-present)
- Member, The Partner Promotion Committee.