Prior to attending law school at the University of British Columbia, Charles was employed for 20 years in the natural gas industry.  In addition to providing consulting services, he held a variety of senior management positions and has experience in regulatory and environmental issues, construction of natural gas plants and pipelines, contract negotiations, marketing, systems and project management.  Prior to becoming a lawyer, Charles prepared submissions to the National Energy Board, Environmental Boards, and various state and provincial utility commissions.  He also participated in numerous industry task forces coordinating and addressing a variety of business and regulatory issues in the natural gas industry, as well as negotiated natural gas and natural gas by-products supply and sales agreements. 

Since becoming a lawyer, Charles has been able to combine his business and energy experience with his legal expertise to become a trusted advisor on commercial, administrative and regulatory, aboriginal, environmental matters (permitting, climate change, GHG emissions trading and offsets), mining, energy (oil, gas, hydro, sustainable and renewable energy projects), and construction and infrastructure matters.  He works with and/or represents clients before the BC Utilities Commission, the BC Oil and Gas Commission, the BC Labour Relations Board, the National Energy Board, the Alberta AEUB and the Yukon Environmental Assessment Board.  Charles advises a diverse client base that includes crown corporations, government departments and agencies, utilities, industrial consumers, independent power producers, contractors and other clients and works to help them understand and assess issues and achieve their goals.

In his spare time, Charles has been extensively involved in the energy industry and community activities.  He regularly volunteers at a pro-bono legal clinic organized by the Access to Justice Society and is a regular instructor at the Law Society of British Columbia's Professional Legal Training Course. He is an active member of many energy industry associations and has coached children’s soccer and baseball.  He is currently an Executive Director of the nonprofit Canadian Institute of Energy (BC).  He was a director of: the nonprofit Naval Officer's Association of British Columbia; the nonprofit Langley Community Music School; St. Andrews Hall, a Presbyterian College; and the College of Applied Biologists.