Charles E. Harris, II

Charles E. Harris, II, dual-qualified in the United States and United Kingdom, defends businesses in high-stakes class actions and complex commercial disputes, with a particular focus on where class litigation and arbitration meet. He represents employers in wage and hour class actions and has successfully defended individual and class action suits under the TCPA, AIPA, FCRA, FDCPA, and state consumer protection statutes, as well as data breach lawsuits under the CFAA and Stored Communications Act. His litigation practice also extends to privacy and First Amendment claims, including defamation and other privacy torts, and, as a registered patent attorney, to intellectual property disputes. Charles has prepared matters for trial, tried cases to completion, and represented clients on appeal in federal and state courts, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Seventh, and Eleventh Circuits.

• Defended a global steel producer in a series of arbitrations brought by a major iron ore supplier seeking to compel renegotiation of the pricing formula in a long-term iron ore pellet supply agreement, a demand that would have increased the client’s costs by nearly $500 million. Challenged the supplier’s premise from the outset and turned the supplier’s own positions from a prior arbitration against it, securing a global settlement on favorable terms.
• Defended a U.S. industrial equipment manufacturer in an international arbitration brought by an Italian forging supplier seeking more than $120 million, plus interest and fees, arising from the cancellation of numerous purchase orders. Negotiated a favorable resolution that preserved the parties’ ongoing supply relationship and secured dismissal of the arbitration with prejudice, without any admission of liability.
• Represented a leading rail technology company and its software subsidiary in federal litigation against a competitor for unlawfully accessing the subsidiary’s computer systems and misappropriating data to compete, in violation of federal and state law. Simultaneously defended against the competitor’s antitrust counterclaims alleging monopolization of the shortline railroad market for transportation management software, ultimately resolving the case through settlement.
• Defended a leading global electrical equipment manufacturer in a certified class action under the Illinois Minimum Wage Law alleging that the company failed to include multiple categories of performance bonuses and incentive pay in hourly employees’ regular rate for overtime purposes, exposing the company to treble damages and 5% monthly statutory penalties. Negotiated a class-wide settlement resolving the overtime claims.

• 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

• Illinois
• New York
• England and Wales
• US Patent and Trademark Office

• 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.