Charles Field - La Jolla, CA

Charles Field is Co-Vice Chairman and Co-Chair of the firm’s Financial Mismanagement and ERISA Litigation Practice Group.

Since joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Charles has been recognized in the legal community as a Super Lawyers-San Diego Honoree (2023), National Law Journal Employment Trailblazer (2021), and was part of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Employment Lawyer list (2021).

Charles has been co-lead and interim co-lead counsel in numerous ERISA class action cases, including Snyder v. UnitedHealth Group; Brown-Davis, et al. v. Walgreen Co.; In re GE ERISA Litigation; Karg v. Transamerica; and Daly v. West Monroe Partners.

At Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Charles’s representations have included:

Litigating against several Fortune 500 companies for claims of mismanaging their employees’ 401(k) retirement plans, resulting in multi-million-dollar settlements in:

• Snyder v. UnitedHealth Group ($69 million)
• In re: GE ERISA Litigation ($61 million)
• Brown-Davis, et al. v. Walgreen Co. ($13.75 million)
• Karg v. Transamerica ($5.4 million)
• Price v. Eaton Vance Corp. ($3.45 million)

Representing elderly and high-net worth individuals in their claims of financial abuse and fraud against investment firms, promoters and brokers, including winning a $2.1 million award for an investor against Madison Avenue Securities

Charles received his law degree from McGeorge Law School, a degree in European Legal Studies from The University of Edinburgh and The University of Salzburg, and his undergraduate degree from Indiana University-Indianapolis.

A member of the California bar, Charles has been interviewed by CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Law360, and several trade publications dealing with ERISA and investment issues.

Prior to joining Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight, Charles served as the general counsel of an institutional money management firm that furnished investment management services to ERISA retirement plans, cities and towns, endowments, and investment companies. During his 17-year tenure, he oversaw compliance with ERISA, as well as federal and state securities laws, including the federal fiduciary duty standards embodied in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. He served on the firm’s various investment and investment performance committees, and securities valuation committees, as well as on the boards of directors of various investment funds that invested billions of dollars in the global securities markets. As an investments industry lawyer, Charles constructed hundreds of investment funds that are the very type at issue in the cases Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight litigates and was responsible for overseeing the funds’ compliance with U.S. securities laws and, in some cases, the law of the jurisdiction of organization (e.g. Mauritius, Ireland, Cayman Islands).

When not lawyering, Charles enjoys traveling and living an active life in sunny San Diego.