Chuck

The BBC has engaged Charles "Chuck" Tobin of Top 100 US law firm Ballard Spahr in the hope of fending off Donald J Trump's money hunt. At 55, he leads the firm's Media and Entertainment practice.

Prior to entering private practice, Chuck spent eight years as in-house counsel at Gannett, which owns print and digital media outlets across the country—including USA TODAY. He has taught media law and ethics at George Washington University and the University of North Florida. 

Tobin was accepted at the University of Florida to study medicine, but switched to a Bachelor of Science course in journalism.  He enrolled in reporting and writing classes and became a stringer for the Associated Press and the Independent Alligator, the student-run newspaper. “I spent the next three years doing everything I could to immerse myself in journalism,” Tobin said.

He then landed a job as courts and police reporter for the News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida. In his second year on the job, he found himself in court.  “A prosecutor had read my stories and was eager to learn how I knew what the grand jury was looking into. So, of course, he subpoenaed me.” His newspaper brought in a media lawyer to fight the subpoena. Sitting there that day, watching the lawyer defend Tobin’s work, something clicked. “I thought this is really cool. That’s what I want to do,” and eventually earned his Juris Doctor, again from the University of Florida. He's now based in Washington, but still a member of the Florida Bar.