Charles Patin joined Kean Miller in 1989. Prior to joining the firm, he was Assistant Executive Counsel to the Governor of Louisiana from 1988 until 1989, and from 1980 through 1988 he served as Chief of the Civil Division of the Louisiana Department of Justice. Charles assists clients in the areas of school desegregation law, state constitutional and general regulatory matters, and general civil litigation.

Charles has recently led two Louisiana school districts through the long process of achieving unitary status in school desegregation lawsuits. In May 2004, Charles successfully negotiated an agreement with the United States Department of Justice and local plaintiffs represented by the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund that resulted in the filing of a joint motion for a judicial declaration of unitary status for the Ascension Parish School Board and dismissal of Welton J. Charles, et al. and United States of America v. Ascension Parish School Board, the school district's school desegregation lawsuit.

In September 2006, Charles' efforts resulted in the filing of an unopposed motion for unitary status in Virgie Lee Valley, et al. and United States of America v. Rapides Parish School Board, the Rapides Parish School Board's 40 plus year old school desegregation lawsuit. Charles negotiated a new consent judgment on behalf of the school district in December 2000 that led to the establishment of six new state of the art magnet schools, a return to "neighborhood schools," several student transfer options to permitted students to attend schools in neighborhoods other than the ones in which they resided, enhancement programs for racially identifiable black elementary schools, and a focus on recruitment of black students for advanced placement, honors, and gifted and talented courses and programs.

In early 2006, Charles provided legal advice and consulting services as a member on a team of consultants engaged by the Arkansas Department of Education to produce a report providing recommendations and guidance for the resolution of the decades old school desegregation litigation pending in Pulaski County (Little Rock and surrounding areas) Arkansas.

Charles is presently providing legal consulting services for the Jefferson Parish School Board. 

He recently co-authored a commentary with Dr. William M. Gordon entitled "School Desegregation Cases: The 'Good Faith' Requirement" which appeared in West's Education Law Reporter, Vol. 159, No. 2, January 31, 2002. Charles has presented in the area of school desegregation law at the 2002 annual meeting of the Education Law Association, an international education law association comprised of educators and attorneys.

Representative Experience

• Successful negotiation of a consent decrees in school desegregation cases which served to eliminate the pairing and clustering of schools.
• Successful filings of motions for partial unitary status in school desegregation litigation.
• Representation of clients before state regulatory agencies.
• Representation of clients in matters involving state constitutional issues.

Education

Charles earned his B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1971 and his J.D. from the LSU Law Center in 1974. He served as the Chairman of the Greater New Orleans Consumer Task Force in 1977 and as a member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection in 1978.

Admissions

• Admitted to bar, 1974, Louisiana
• Admitted to bar, 1979, United States Supreme Court
• Admitted to practice before United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and all federal district courts in Louisiana

Memberships

• Co-chair, Governor's Special Committee on the Composition and Administration of the Judiciary Section, 1989, Secretary, Special Committee on Judicial Electoral Processes, 1991, Sub-committee on Campaign Finance Practices, 1991
• Chairman, Bench and Bar Section
• American Bar Association
• American Judicature Society (Board of Directors, 1992-1994)
• Board of Examiners for Certified Court Reporters, 1993-1995
• Louisiana Organization for Judicial Excellence (Board of Directors, 1992-1995). [Captain, Infantry, U.S. Army Reserves, 1971-1979.]
• Past Member, Civil Justice Advisory Committee, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana

Community Service

• Past member, Board of Directors, Baton Rouge Chapter, Gulf Coast Conservation Association.
• Past member, Board of Directors, Playmakers.
• Past member, Board of Directors, Blundon Home.
• Past member, Louisiana Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution.
• Graduate, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class of 1999.