Charles Patin is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 1989. Charles assists clients in the areas of school desegregation law, state constitutional and general regulatory matters, and general civil litigation. Prior to joining the firm, he served as Assistant Executive Counsel to the Governor of Louisiana from 1988 until 1989. From 1980 through 1988 he served as Chief of the Civil Division of the Louisiana Department of Justice. Charles has received an AV rating in Martindale Hubble.

Charles has recently led three Louisiana school districts through the long process of achieving unitary status in school desegregation lawsuits.  In May 2004, he 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 case.

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 brought an end to the long standing school desegregation lawsuit in Jefferson Parish in 2011. In 2008, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana approved a Consent Order in Lena Vern Dandridge, et at. v. Jefferson Parish School Board setting forth requirements the school district would need to address to achieve unitary status. Upon the expiration of the order in 2011, the lawsuit was dismissed. A post-unitary status agreement was successfully negotiated between the school district and plaintiffs setting out post-unitary obligations of the school district.

Charles currently represents the Tangipahoa Parish School Board in Joyce Marie Moore, et al. v. Tangipahoa Parish School Board, the school district's 47 year old school desegregation lawsuit. Following a protracted trial, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana entered an Order, sought by the school district, setting forth requirements the school district will need to address to achieve unitary status. The Order provides for establishment of ten new magnet schools, construction of three new elementary,"neighborhood school attendance zones", and addresses each of the factors a school system must address to be declared unitary.

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

Representative Experience

• 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.

Admissions

• Admitted, Louisiana, 1974; Admitted to practice before all federal district courts in Louisiana; United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; United States Supreme Court
  

Memberships

• Member, Governor's Special Committee on the Composition and Administration of the Judiciary Section (Co-chair, 1989); Special Committee on Judicial Electoral Processes (Secretary, 1991); Sub-committee on Campaign Finance Practices, 1991; 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, United States Army Reserves, 1971-1979; Civil Justice Advisory Committee, United States District Court, Middle District of Louisiana (Past Member); District Criminal Justice Act Panel Selection Committee for the Middle District of Louisiana (Current Member)
  

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