Charles J Hamilton, Jr

Charles J. Hamilton, Jr., became the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Harlem School of the Arts on April 21, 2010 after taking part in an intensive three-week campaign that resulted in combined gifts of $1 million from the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Starr Foundation and two anonymous donors. These gifts allowed the School to keep its doors open after more than 45 years of service. Mr. Hamilton is Senior Counsel in the New York office of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP. Mr. Hamilton advises clients in real estate development and finance, government finance, and corporate governance. He represents private real estate owners, buildings and developers, entrepreneurial investors, investment banks and institutional lenders, and public and private real estate investment funds in complex acquisition, development, financing, tax credit, and joint venture transactions. He also represents media companies and government agencies, and counsels national and not-for-profit organizations. From 1984 to 2000, Mr. Hamilton was a Partner in the law firm of Battle Fowler LLP. From 2000 to 2009 he was a Partner in the New York office of global law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Hamilton was a partner in Paul Hastings’ National Real Estate Practice Group. Mr. Hamilton graduated from Harvard College in 1969 (cum laude in Government), and from the Harvard Law School (J.D., 1975) where he served on the Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. He also received a Masters Degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.C.P., 1975). Mr. Hamilton is also a Member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental Defense Fund and the National Visionaries Leadership Project. He also serves as a Trustee of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Mr. Hamilton has served on the boards of the Phoenix House Foundation, Inc., Granite Broadcasting Corporation (NASDAQ Symbol “GBTVK”) and the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. Mr. Hamilton has been the recipient of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP Robert P. Hastings Partnership Award (2006) for Firm Leadership in Community Service, and the National Urban League, Inc. Collins Award (2006) for outstanding leadership as an NUL Trustee and service as Outside General Counsel. He has also been recognized as follows: “America’s Top Black Lawyers,” Black Enterprise Magazine, November 2003. W.E.B. DuBois Medal for Academic Leadership, Harvard University, 2000. “New York’s Most Powerful Lawyers,” New York Magazine, Fall 1999. Mr. Hamilton has also served as a member of the Harvard College Board of Overseers’ Visiting Committee to the College, Public Policy Committee of the Board of Directors of The Advertising Council, Inc., and the Board of managers of the Harvard Club of New York City. He has served as a Trustee of the Harvard Law School Association of New York City, Inc. and the Interest on Lawyer Account Fund of the State of New York (IOLA) (Appointment by Governor Mario M. Cuomo; 1984-1987) Mr. Hamilton is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI), the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He has served on the faculty of the Practicing Law Institute’s (PLI) program in Commercial Real Estate Financing.