Message from Interim Chancellor Guskiewicz on new general counsel
Charles Marshall brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse legal experience to this role. His broad expertise in digital media and data privacy will be vitally important for protecting the University in today’s landscape of privacy threats and rapid technological change.
Dear Carolina Community:
I am pleased to announce that Charles Marshall has been named vice chancellor and general counsel for the University after a highly competitive national search. His first day will be Sept. 16.
Charles currently is a partner at the Raleigh law firm Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard LLP, where his work focuses on a wide range of topics, including data privacy, digital media, business litigation and election and ethics law. He also is outside general counsel to the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.
As a UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus twice over, Charles’s Carolina roots run deep. He studied political science and history before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in 1992. During his time as an undergraduate, he served as an assistant student attorney general. Later, he worked on the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation while earning his Doctor of Law degree with honors in 1996. He also met his wife Fraley Marshall at Carolina.
Charles brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse legal experience to this role. His broad expertise in digital media and data privacy will be vitally important for protecting the University in today’s landscape of privacy threats and rapid technological change.
Charles will serve as the University’s chief legal officer, providing legal advice and counsel to the Board of Trustees, me, the administration, faculty and staff on legal matters involving or affecting the institution, as well as direct outside counsel on all cases and issues. As chief legal officer, Charles also will serve as a liaison with the Office of the President of the University of North Carolina system, the state Attorney General’s Office and other authorities on legal issues.
Charles succeeds Mark Merritt, who left Carolina at the end of 2018. Steve Keadey and Kara Simmons have since served as interim general counsel, and I am grateful for their outstanding leadership and service.
Charles is an accomplished attorney with a diverse professional background. In addition to his years in private practice, he also worked in all three branches of federal government. His experience includes four years as an appellate litigator in the U.S. Department of Justice, and two years as a policy advisor on the staff of now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
His accolades include being selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in commercial litigation and government relations from 2013-2019. He has been recognized in North Carolina Super Lawyers for business litigation from 2012-2019. And, he was recognized in Super Lawyers Business Edition in 2015 for business litigation.
He also is active in the community. He served on the Justice Matters Board of Directors from 2016-2018, and the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Visitors from 2012-2016. He is a Salvation Army of Wake County youth flag football coach.
Thanks to the search committee: Martin H. Brinkley, dean and Arch T. Allen Distinguished Professor of Law, UNC School of Law; Richard Stevens, chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees; Jeff Brown, UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees; Amy Locklear Hertel, chief of staff to the chancellor, clinical assistant professor in the UNC School of Social Work, director of the UNC American Indian Center; Julie Byerley, executive vice dean and chief education officer for the UNC School of Medicine; Judith Cone, vice chancellor for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development; and Jonathan Sauls, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs.
Please join me in congratulating Charles on his new role and welcoming him back to campus.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Interim Chancellor
