Adam Charnes focuses his practice on appellate, constitutional and complex business litigation. Mr. Charnes has extensive experience in cases pending in federal and state courts of appeals across the nation, including the United States Supreme Court. He also has been responsible for a broad range of business litigation matters, including contract, business torts, environmental, copyright and other commercial litigation. He regularly represents clients in constitutional litigation and in class actions.
Following law school, Mr. Charnes served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Prior to joining the firm, he was an associate at a Washington, D.C. law firm and then was an executive-level in-house litigator for a Fortune 500 company. From 2002 to 2003, Mr. Charnes served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy at the United States Department of Justice. At the Office of Legal Policy, he was responsible for various legal policy matters, including counter-terrorism policy, the President’s racial profiling initiative, and civil justice reform, and for assisting with the selection and confirmation of federal judges.
Mr. Charnes was awarded the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award in July 2003. While at Harvard Law School, he was the recipient of the Sears Prize, awarded to the three students with the top academic performance during their first year of law school. Mr. Charnes was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® for Appellate Law and Commercial Litigation in 2012 and the four years immediately preceding. He has been listed in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in the area of General Commercial Litigation in 2011 and the four years immediately preceding. Mr. Charnes has been named a 2012 North Carolina "Super Lawyer" in the area of Appellate Law by North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine. He is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell.*
*CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedure's standards and policies.
Professional & Community Activities
Judicial Conference of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Permanent Member
Chief Justice Joseph Branch American Inn of Court, Senior Barrister
North Carolina Bar Association, Member
Federal Bar Association, Middle District of North Carolina Chapter, President-Elect
Supreme Court Historical Society, Member
Harvard Law Review, Past Executive Editor
