Charles L Dorothy, Attorney

Charles was born in Philip, South Dakota on April 4, 1949. He grew up working at various jobs for his father's Chevrolet dealership. He graduated from Philip High School in 1967, and entered the University of South Dakota that fall.

Charles graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1971 with a major in Public Administration.  He entered the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1971, and graduated in 1974.

Following graduation from law school, Charles entered the private practice of law in Rapid City, South Dakota.  In 1976, he joined the staff of the South Dakota Attorney General and served as an assistant attorney general from 1976-1978. He joined the staff of the Minnehaha County States Attorney as a prosecutor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1978, leaving in 1980 to go into private practice.  He has practiced privately in Sioux Falls since that time.

Charles is a member of the South Dakota Bar Association.  He is admitted to practice before the courts of the state of South Dakota, the United States District Court of South Dakota, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.  He has handled numerous civil lawsuits in these courts, as well as courts in Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota in association with attorneys from those states. Charles is the attorney of record in a number of published Appellate court cases.

Since 1990, Charles' practice has focused on small business clients. This practice includes planning and consultation with business clients, many involved in multiple state activities. When necessary, he utilizes local attorneys in the various states where his clients do business to comply with local and state laws and regulations. Charles has assisted business clients with a wide variety of issues such as creation of business entities, termination of business entities, documentation of various internal and external transactions, mergers and acquisitions, buy/sell agreements between owners, death or retirement of an employee-owner, the restructuring of debt and various contractual arrangements.

Following completion of The Minnesota State Bar Association Certified Mediation Skills Training in 1997, Charles became active in mediation, both as a mediator and as an attorney counseling those engaged in mediation. He is a member of the South Dakota Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee. He is a member of the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council. In January of 2004, he organized and moderated a Seminar on ADR Processes For Small Businesses for the Small Business Council.

For more specifics as to his present law practice, log onto his web site:       www.dorothylawfirm.com