Charles S. Johnson, III is a seasoned trial lawyer and counselor to entities in the public and private sector. His practice currently focuses in the areas of public policy and complex business disputes.
Mr. Johnson began his legal career as an antitrust lawyer and served as adjunct professor of antitrust law at the University of Georgia Law School. His antitrust practice has included service as principal Georgia antitrust counsel for a major automobile manufacturer and as coordinating antitrust counsel for a national insurance rating organization. His litigation practice has expanded to include health policy litigation, education policy litigation, tax litigation, employment litigation, securities litigation, civil RICO and qui tam litigation, eminent domain litigation, zoning litigation and litigation of commercial disputes.
Mr. Johnson's public policy practice has included counseling, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and litigation. He participated in the creation of Zoo Atlanta, the Countywide Library System for Fulton County, GA and Georgia's first tax allocation districts. He advised Morehouse College in securing the Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection. He has litigated questions related to the regulatory authority of Georgia's Commissioner of Insurance and the Georgia Department of Community Health, the taxing power of local school districts and the enforcement of the Clean Air Act. His litigated cases have made it possible to vigorously enforce the federal Fair Housing Act, and they have made it possible for courts to consider quality of education when fashioning a remedy for school segregation. Mr. Johnson has lectured on public policy issues before a wide variety of bodies, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Georgia Real Property Law Institute, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and the Institute for City and County Attorneys. His articles on public law topics have appeared in a variety of publications, including the Real Estate Finance Journal, Georgia County Government magazine and the Georgia Municipal Association's Municipal Desk Reference.
