Charlie received his Juris Doctor from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1986. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1977. He is a member of the Florida Bar and Virginia Bar, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

While in the Coast Guard, Charlie commanded the United States Coast Guard Cutter Point Warde located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and also was the Executive Officer of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Tampa located in Portsmouth, Virginia. He and his wife, Nelda, reside in Boca Raton, Florida.

As a Coast Guard lawyer, Charlie specialized in court-martial and criminal appellate litigation. Since retiring from the military in 1997, he has represented sophisticated business owners, shareholders, and entrepreneurs in a wide variety of litigation involving challenging liability and damages theories.