Charles McCowan is of counsel in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. A founding member of the firm, he has more than 40 years of experience and represents local, regional, national and international petrochemical, industrial, healthcare, and corporate clients in a wide variety of disputes.  His experience includes class action litigation, toxic tort defense, construction litigation, environmental litigation, and commercial disputes. 

Charles is an AV-rated lawyer and has been selected by his peers for membership as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and the International Society of Barristers. He has also been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, Inc.) for more than 10 years and was named the Baton Rouge Mass Tort Litigator of the Year in 2010.  Charles is listed among the top litigation lawyers in the State of Louisiana by Chambers USA (2012) and is listed in Louisiana Super Lawyers 2007-2013.

He served as counsel to the Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA) and the Louisiana Municipal Association (LMA).  The LCA represents the Louisiana chemical industry  in connection with the activities of regulatory agencies, and state government and as amicus in various matters of interest to the chemical industry.  The LMA is composed of Louisiana municipalities and advocates municipal issues at the Louisiana legislature and in amicus curiae before trial and appellate courts. 

Representative Experience

• Lead counsel or liaison counsel in numerous toxic tort and commercial class action cases involving thousands of class members and multiple Fortune 100 defendants
• Frequent lecturer on class action and complex litigation at Louisiana State Bar Association sponsored continuing legal education courses
• Participated as Counsel or Amicus in over 80 reported decisions
  
• Awarded two Army Commendation Medals and Judge Advocate General's Certificate of Achievement

Education

Charles earned his B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1964.  He earned his J.D. in 1967 from the LSU Law Center where he was a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Delta Phi, and the Order of the Coif. He served as a Staff Writer for the Louisiana Law Review from 1965 to 1967.  He also served as Captain, JAGC, United States Army from 1967 to 1971; as Deputy SJA-USA Flight Training Center, 2d Armored Division; and as Military Judge. Charles was inducted into the LSU Law School Hall of Fame in 1987.

Admissions

• Admitted, Louisiana, 1967; United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana; United States Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit; United States Court of Military Appeals; United States Supreme Court, 1971
  

Memberships

• American College of Trial Lawyers (Member, Adjunct State Committee, 2012-2013); American Board of Trial Advocates; Dean Henry George McMahon American Inn of Court; International Society of Barristers

Articles, Publications and Presentations

• Louisiana Supreme Court Rejects Application of Punitive Damages in Toxic Tort Case, Louisiana Law Blog, March 2012.
  
• The Cy Pres Doctrine:  A Settling Concept, McCowan and Fayard, Louisiana Bar Journal, December 2010/January 2011.
  
• Louisiana Complex Litigation, McCowan and Fayard, 80 Tulane Law Review 1905, June 2006.
• 1998-2006 Review of the Louisiana Class Action, Louisiana Judicial College, and Annual Summer Schools for Lawyers, Louisiana State Bar Association and Annual Class Action Mass Tort Symposiums.
• Joint Defense Counsel: Retention and Responsibility, The Defense Research Institute, 36 For the Defense 20, 1994.
• The Evolution of Environmental Law in Louisiana, 52 Louisiana Law Review 907.
• A Standard for Expert Testimony in Louisiana, 37 Louisiana Bar Journal 76.
• Defending the State Environmental Enforcement Actions, 36 Louisiana Bar Journal 20.
• Louisiana Environmental Enforcement Actions, 29 Louisiana Bar Journal 171.

Community Service

• Past Member of the Board of Directors: Capital Area United Way and Louisiana State University Museum of Art
• Past Member, Rotary Club of Baton Rouge
• Member, Advisory Board, Louisiana Business & Technology Center
  

Reported Cases Available upon request.

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