Charles Harris
Charles E. Harris, II, is a partner in Mayer Brown’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution group. His litigation practice focuses on a range of 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 arising under the TCPA, AIPA, FCRA, FDCPA and state consumer protection statutes and defended data breach lawsuits. 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 both federal and state courts.
In addition to being an accomplished litigator, Charles has significant experience in all areas of arbitration. He has represented clients engaged in domestic and international arbitration before many administrators, including the AAA, ICDR, ICC and IFTA. He has also litigated dozens of actions to enforce arbitration agreements. And, in doing so, Charles has faced many threshold questions of arbitrability, such as whether the court or an arbitrator decides if an arbitration agreement permits class arbitration. In addition, Charles acts as a commercial and consumer arbitrator for the AAA. He has presided over arbitrations ranging from complex computer software integration disputes to disputes regarding the control of a business entity. Charles is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Charles is also a trusted counselor for clients in several areas. As for privacy, Charles has assisted insurance companies, higher education institutions, service providers, and healthcare organizations in complying with the HIPAA and its implementing regulations, and responding to data breach incidents. Notably, Charles passed the Certified HIPAA Privacy Security (CHPSE) exam. Charles also counsels clients on creating and sustaining arbitration programs, complying with the TCPA, VPPA and Section 230 of the CDA, and avoiding First Amendment and privacy issues. Charles is also a thought leader in his areas of practice, and he has published extensively on subjects such as class-action defense, arbitration agreements, and First Amendment-related issues.
Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Charles clerked for the late Judge David D. Dowd Jr., of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. He received a BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a MS in Biology, summa cum laude, from North Carolina Central University, and his JD, summa cum laude, from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Charles has received a number of accolades for his leadership and legal experience, including Super Lawyers naming him to its “Illinois Rising Stars” list from 2013 to 2017, The Network Journal honoring him with its “40 Under Forty” Achievement Award, and the Illinois Diversity Council Multicultural Leadership Award.
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