Background
Charles Hunter was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where he attended a private preparatory high school on a competitive scholarship and graduated 8th in a class of 125. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance with honors from The University of Texas at Austin in 1977, then a law degree from UT Austin in 1980, graduating in the top third of his class.
In law school, he served as Note Editor of the Review of Litigation, as a member of the Law School Standards Committee, and as the law school’s delegate to the Constitutional Convention of the Students’ Association. He clerked at the law firm of Waggoner Carr, who served in the 1960s as Texas Attorney General and as a member of the Warren Commission.
Career
- 1980s · CaliforniaSworn in to the State Bar of California in December 1980. He worked with prominent civil rights lawyer Barry Fisher defending religious, speech and associational rights in state and federal courts, including two cases before the United States Supreme Court involving public solicitation and reporting of donations, distribution of literature, and land use. He also represented artists and entertainers in copyright and contract matters.
- Business, insurance and trial workHe then practiced with business and insurance law firms, prosecuting and defending securities, trademark, copyright and insurance matters, drafting insurance coverage opinions and advising business organizations. He also represented criminal defendants in state and federal courts, gaining extensive courtroom experience.
- 1994 · Return to TexasBack in Texas, he advised large churches and related nonprofits nationwide as a management consultant on executive compensation and on compliance with excise-tax rules governing excess benefit transactions. He later managed non-qualified executive benefit plans for publicly traded companies and other large employers across Texas and the Southwest.
- Houston real estate developmentHe served as Vice President of a Houston-based real estate development firm. That experience gives him a developer’s view of contracts, financing, title and construction, which he now brings to real estate litigation.
- 2005 · Securities arbitrationHe joined Woska & Hayes LLP as a securities arbitration attorney and, from Houston, represented clients nationwide in settlements, mediations and arbitrations over the suitability of investments in brokerage accounts.
- Complex and commercial litigationHe has also served of counsel to Reich & Binstock, LLP on consumer class actions, mass actions, and financial and commercial litigation. These matters include insurance disputes, products liability, lender liability including derivative swaps, commercial landlord liability, employment and wage claims, consumer fraud, and trademark, trade secret and non-competition litigation.
Notable representations
Real property
Deed recording fees and transfer taxes
Represented county governments across the nation in actions to collect deed recording fees and real property transfer taxes from an association of banks and title companies, and from government-sponsored enterprises.
Insurance
Diminished value claims
Continues the firm’s successful representation of consumers against auto insurers that failed to pay diminished value losses on vehicles involved in accidents.
Antitrust
Blue Cross Blue Shield litigation
Represents Texas health care providers in the Provider Track of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation.
Products liability
Interim co-lead counsel
Served as interim co-lead counsel in the Yamaha outboard motor products liability litigation, and pursues claims against other manufacturers of defective products.
“We are proud to have earned a reputation for delivering strong results that have made our firm a trusted source of legal representation.”Charles Hunter
Why his background matters for your case
Real estate and business disputes are, at bottom, disputes about money, documents and value. Charles combines finance training, executive experience in real estate development, and decades of complex litigation, including work on the economics of real property transfers nationwide. That mix lets him evaluate a deal the way a lender, a title company and a jury will, and build a strategy around what a dispute is actually worth. Today he advises Houston businesses and individuals on corporate and contractual matters and litigates their disputes with customers, competitors, contractors and insurers. Learn more about real estate law and business litigation.
Credentials
Education
- J.D., The University of Texas at Austin, 1980 (top third of class)
- BBA, Finance, with honors, The University of Texas at Austin, 1977
- Note Editor, Review of Litigation
- Member, Law School Standards Committee
- Law student clerk, law firm of Waggoner Carr
Bar admissions
- State Bar of Texas
- State Bar of California (admitted December 1980)
- Washington State Bar
Publications & presentations
- Co-author, “A Measure of Quality and Quantity – Market Adjusted Damages as Proof of the Broker’s Failure to Diversify – A Causal Connection Between Malfeasance and Damages,” PIABA Bar Journal
- Author, “Framing the Issues – Liability for Losses on Transferred-in Securities Grounded on Non-Disclosure and on Violation of High Standards of Commercial Honor,” PIABA Bar Journal
- Presenter, 16th Annual Meeting of the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA)
Honors
- BBA with honors, UT Austin
- Top third of class, UT Law
- Graduated 8th of 125 from preparatory high school on a competitive scholarship
Talk with Charles about your property or business dispute.
Book a discovery call or call (346) 363-0334.
