Charles F. Marshall

General Counsel Experience

• Served as chief legal and governance executive for top-ranked R1 public higher education institution; appointed to Board of Directors of UNC Health care.
• Advised executive University leadership on crisis strategy and response to major events, including politically charged protests and controversies, seismic changes in college athletics, cyberthreats, pandemic operations, and sensitive confidential disciplinary matters.
• Oversaw legal advice related to heavily regulated subject areas, including research misconduct, foreign influence, Title IV rules regarding non-discrimination and harassment, federal campus security regulations, state procurement rules, and multiple federal and state data and privacy regulations; led early development of emerging enterprise risk function for the University.
• Advised University Board of Trustees on legal, policy, and governance matters through several highly publicized institutional challenges; led an enterprise-wide project to restate the division of all campus authorities between the Chancellor and the Board.
• Advised Chancellor and Athletic Director on major issues relating to college athletics, including recruitment of decorated former NFL head football coach; NIL reforms, conference realignment, media rights, Title IX, antitrust litigation, labor and employment issues relating to college athletics, and NCAA eligibility disputes,
• Supervised legal and governance services related to academic, research, and employment issues within the UNC School of Medicine and its clinical patient care programs in coordination with UNC Health.

Private Practice Experience

• Served as lead counsel in federal and state trial and appellate courts in constitutional and complex litigation matters; advocated for national and regional clients before the U.S. Congress and federal and state regulatory agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Advised trade association boards and public governmental bodies on matters of governance, constitutional law, political and regulatory compliance, and public policy; served as outside general counsel to the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters; advised two national Presidential campaigns on content, copyright, and trademark matters.
• Represented corporate clients in multiple data breach investigations, including managing response plans, communications with state regulators, notifications to individuals, and advising on future risk mitigation strategies.
• Represented clients in election law compliance and constitutional litigation, including campaign finance rules and federal redistricting claims involving claims of racial and political gerrymandering.

Federal Government Experience

• Office of United States Senator Mitch McConnell. Advised Senator on policy and legislation relating to appropriations, telecommunications, energy, post-9/11 reforms, and post-Enron reforms; drafted speeches and prepared Senator for media appearances.

• United States Department of Justice, Appellate Section, Tax Division, Washington, DC, 1997-2000. Argued and briefed federal tax cases before the United States Court of Appeals, including oral arguments in the Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits.

• Law Clerk to the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr., Senior U.S. Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Richmond, VA, 1996-1997. Also supported Judge Butzner in his work as a member of the D.C. Circuit Special Division for the Purpose of Appointing Independent Counsels.

Charles is a member of the executive management team, working closely with the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Committee to foster the firm’s growth. He is responsible for overseeing performance management, firm operations and innovation, client service, and senior management initiatives. Charles has more than 25 years of legal experience across multiple practices and industries, including higher education, board governance, constitutional litigation, health care, media law, and data privacy.

Before joining Burr & Forman, Charles served as the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a member of the institution’s senior executive leadership team, Charles helped lead the University through a period of transformational change and complex legal crises. The scope of his legal and governance responsibilities spanned a landmark constitutional case before the U.S. Supreme Court, unprecedented challenges in college athletics and conference realignment, clashes between free speech and public safety, public-facing Board governance, and high-profile employment matters. Charles also served on the Board of Directors of UNC Health.

Charles also brings extensive experience as a law firm practitioner and leader. As a former partner at a successful North Carolina law firm, Charles represented a wide range of business, governmental, and trade association clients and held multiple firm leadership positions.

Early in his legal career, Charles worked in each of the three branches of the federal government in Washington, D.C. – as a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, a U.S. Senate staffer, and a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Charles has a passion for teaching and training, and he currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at The University of North Carolina School of Law, where he co-teaches a simulation-focused class, “Legal Crisis Management” that teaches strategies for communicating advice to clients, navigating organizational stakeholders, and promoting lawyer health and wellness over the course of a career.

Charles received his undergraduate and law degrees from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• Charles F. Marshall & Eric M. David, Prior Restraint 2.0: A Framework for Applying Section 230 to Online Journalism, 1 Wake Forest J.L.& Pol'y 75 (May 2011).

• Presenter, “Managing Decision-Making Structures and Board Dynamics within the University,” The University of North Carolina System All Attorneys Legal Conference (October 2023).

• Presenter, “Nondiscrimination in Admissions – Legal, Compliance, and Governance Frameworks to Advise Campus Clients,” University of Texas System Legal Conference (September 2023).

• Presenter, “Nuts and Bolts of Political Broadcasting Law,” a regular biannual presentation before members of the Ohio Association of Broadcasters, Virginia Association of Broadcasters, and North Carolina Association of Broadcasters (multiple years through 2019).

• Presenter, “You’ve Been Breached, Now What?” CEO Summit, Business North Carolina (March 2018).

• Panelist, “Responding to a Data Breach,” Banking Security Summit, North Carolina Bankers Association (October 2014).

• Presenter, “Tax Consequences of Lobbying and Political Advocacy,” North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (May 2014).

• Presenter, “Citizens United and Corporate Political Speech: New Opportunities and Obstacles,” North Carolina Professional Lobbyists Association (October 2010).