Lawyer Bio : Charles A. Edwards

Since beginning the practice of law in Savannah, GA in 1970, Charlie has devoted his attention to the representation of employers in all phases of labor and employment law. While he has defended employer interests in hundreds of cases in state and federal courts nationwide, both jury and nonjury, and has extensive experience in class action defense, and is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court and all thirteen U.S. Courts of Appeals, Charlie spends much of his time counseling clients on how to stay out of court, as well as how to provide the best defense in the event litigation is inevitable. He operates on the philosophy that litigation avoidance is the best way to spend an employer’s time and attention, if that can be accomplished without conceding important principles.

Charlie represented the employer-respondents in briefing and arguing a landmark Supreme Court case, Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp., et al., involving the arbitrability of employment discrimination claims under a collective bargaining agreement.

Charlie’s clients range from Fortune 100 manufacturers, retailers and service providers to small employers and local governments. Recent significant matters include: 

• Defending an aerospace contractor in a complex employment arbitration arising out of the termination of a senior executive. 
• Representing employers governed by the Labor Management Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act in litigation, seniority disputes, unfair representation claims, and related issues. 
• Successfully representing employers regarding OSHA claims involving fatalities, serious injuries and six-figure penalty assessments (construction and pharmaceutical manufacturing clients). 
• Representing shareholders of a bankrupt airline regarding claims by the North Carolina Department of Labor for unpaid vacation and leave. 
• Enforcing employment contracts containing covenants not to compete in the personnel placement, automobile racing, insurance, medical devices, and banking industries. 
• Defending employers in litigation alleging discrimination on the basis of race, age, sex, national origin, religion, and disability. 
• Counseling employers in sensitive employee terminations and resolving claims of discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, and “whistle-blowing.” 
• Guiding employers through compliance issues under Sarbanes-Oxley, the Fair Housing Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the host of other federal, state and local laws and regulations impacting on the employment relationship. 
• Advising employers regarding employment and labor aspects of the economic crisis and rescue effort, including restructuring and reductions in force, post-employment restrictions on activity, special requirements produced by EESA, dealing with unionized workforces, and structuring executive compensation and severance plans.
• Drafting blog postings and client alerts for our Fair Labor Standards Act , Multi-Family Housing, and Economic Recovery Teams, and serving as the editor of the FLSA Blog.

Away from Womble Carlyle, Charlie spends his time with Judy, his wife of more than 40 years. The couple shares a love of history and genealogy, and restored a 150-year-old home in Warrenton, NC, where they lived prior to moving to Winston-Salem in 2007. Charlie served as a member of the Warrenton Town Council and as President of Preservation Warrenton, Inc.