Management Team: Jeanne Charles

Jeanne Charles is the Managing Attorney for Community Legal Aid’s Legal Assistance to Victims Project. In this role, she oversees the nonprofit law firm’s services to survivors of violence.

Jeanne joined Legal Aid in 2014 as a staff attorney. A member of the family law team, she primarily represented victims of domestic violence, helping them obtain protection orders and permanently secure independence from their abusers through divorce and custody proceedings.

Before joining Legal Aid , Jeanne worked as an associate attorney with a public interest, civil rights, and consumer rights law firm in Chicago. There, she represented homeowners in predatory lending cases in both state and federal courts. Jeanne also served as a judicial law clerk to various judges of the Circuit Court of Cook County, including the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama.

Outside of her work life, Jeanne has been and continues to be an active member of her community. She has served on the board of a small non-profit and as a board member of  her local church. Additionally, during law school she  volunteered as a Volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Prior to attending law school, she volunteered in an underserved neighborhood in Chicago, working with middle school children.

Jeanne is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Akron Bar Association, and the Stark County Bar Association.

Jeanne earned her juris doctorate from the University of Akron School of Law in 2007. She is a graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, where she earned her bachelor's in language arts education.