Charles M. Sims

Overview

Charles Sims handles high-stakes business litigation and professional liability defense in state and federal courts with tactical precision and strategic insight. His practice centers on resolving legal and accounting malpractice, architects and engineers liability, and errors and omissions claims where reputations and livelihoods hang in the balance. Clients value his ability to distill sophisticated technical issues into persuasive courtroom narratives that resonate with judges, juries, and opposing counsel alike.

Charles’s commercial litigation practice spans officers' and directors' liability, professional malpractice, breach of contract, fraud, trade secret violations, real estate disputes, and tortious interference claims. Charles brings particular skill to False Claims Act matters, Lanham Act cases, and ERISA litigation, where regulatory complexity demands both legal acumen and multi-dimensional analysis and thinking. What distinguishes his approach to dispute resolution, in and out of court, is his seemingly innate instinct for identifying the pressure points in any dispute—the facts, arguments, or procedural moves that shift momentum decisively in his clients' favor.

Charles maintains an active intellectual property litigation practice in federal and state courts, with concentrated experience in technology disputes. His background gives him fluency in the technical languages that dominate modern IP cases, from software architecture to data systems. Clients in the technology sector particularly value this dual competency—the ability to translate client innovation into legal arguments without losing the nuance that makes their work valuable.

Prior to the law and as a Naval Academy graduate, Charles served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy, stationed aboard a Los Angeles Class Fast Attack Nuclear Submarine. He supervised nuclear reactor and propulsion plant operations, developed sonar search protocols, and built training systems that improved maintenance efficiency. That experience instilled the highest level of discipline and composure under pressure that clients recognize and appreciate immediately when litigation intensifies.

Honors

• AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale – Hubbell
• Legal Elite, Civil Litigation, Virginia Business magazine, 2006, 2009-2013 & 2015-2016
• Local Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation, 2009, 2014, 2016
• Virginia Super Lawyer, Business Litigation, Law & Politics magazine, 2009–2024
• Best Lawyer, Commercial Litigation, Litigation – Intellectual Property, and Litigation – Trusts & Estates, The Best Lawyers in America, 2008-2016, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
• Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers for Litigation – Trusts and Estates

News

Professional

• Member, Civil Litigation, Richmond Bar Association
• Member, Virginia Bar Association

Community

Charles raises puppies with his wife to become service dogs for Canine Companions.  He and his wife have raised four puppies, three of which have graduated from the program and went on to become service dogs. The one who did not graduate from the program is living with them as a pet. Currently, they are raising their fifth puppy.