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Charles Harder | |
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| Born | Charles John Harder [1] November 9, 1969 [2] |
| Education | University of California, Santa Cruz (BA) Loyola Marymount University (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Charles John Harder (born November 9, 1969) is an American lawyer at the law firm Harder Stonerock LLP based in Los Angeles, California. [3]
Harder graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a bachelor's degree in 1991. He earned a juris doctor degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles in 1996. [3] After completing law school, Harder served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge A. Andrew Hauk in Los Angeles. [3]
Harder is best known for representing Hulk Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) in the Bollea v. Gawker case. [4] [5] In March 2016, a Florida jury awarded Bollea $140 million in damages. [6] The verdict led Gawker Media to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2016, and the company's assets were subsequently sold at a bankruptcy court auction to Univision Communications for $135 million. [7] [8]
In 2007, Harder represented video game publisher Ubisoft in a one-week arbitration trial, defeating an $11 million claim by a German video game producer. [9]
Between 2009 and 2016, Harder represented a number of celebrities over misappropriation of their names and likeness, [10] including Sandra Bullock, [11] George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, [12] Jude Law, [13] Mandy Moore, [14] Liam Neeson, [12] Julia Roberts [11] and Reese Witherspoon. [15] [16] Harder also won ICANN arbitrations for Sandra Bullock, [17] Cameron Diaz, [18] Kate Hudson, [19] and Sigourney Weaver. [20]
In 2011, Harder won an $18 million verdict for Cecchi Gori Pictures and defeated a multi-million dollar counter-claim after a four-week trial in Los Angeles state court. [21] [22]
In 2017–18, Harder represented Ivan Aguilera, the heir of Mexican pop icon Juan Gabriel, against Univision and Telemundo in a $100 million defamation suit. [23]
In 2017, Harder represented First Lady Melania Trump in a defamation case against the Daily Mail , which resulted in a $2.9 million settlement payment to Trump, and a public retraction and apology by the Daily Mail to her. [24] In 2018, he also represented President Donald Trump in legal demand letters sent to political consultant/media executive Steve Bannon and author Michael Wolff. [25] Harder also represented Jared Kushner in connection with a Vanity Fair article covering the 2017 Special Counsel investigation. [26] He represented the Trump campaign in a legal action taken against Omarosa Manigault Newman following the publication of her book, Unhinged . [27]
In 2018, Harder represented Trump in a defamation lawsuit filed by Stormy Daniels (real name Stephanie Clifford). On October 15, 2018, the U.S. District Court granted an anti-SLAPP motion filed by Harder, dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice and awarding Trump reimbursement of his attorneys fees against Stormy Daniels. [28] On December 11, 2018, the court ordered Stormy Daniels to pay Trump 75% reimbursement of his attorneys fees or $292,052.33, plus a $1000 sanction on Stormy Daniels as well. "The court’s order," Harder said, "along with the court’s prior order dismissing Stormy Daniels’ defamation case against President Trump, together constitute a total victory for the President, and a total defeat for Stormy Daniels in this case." [29] On July 31, 2020, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the U.S. District Court's ruling, in a unanimous 3-0 decision. [30]
In 2019, Harder sent a letter to CNN on behalf of Donald Trump and his campaign, alleging that the network misrepresented itself as a neutral news organization and threatening legal action under the federal Lanham Act. [31] The threatened lawsuit never materialized. [32]
In 2019, Harder sued Oakley on behalf of US Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, for using his name and image beyond the term permitted by an earlier contract between them. [33]
In 2020, Harder sued VICE Media on behalf of BYD, a multi-billion dollar electric vehicle manufacturer based in China backed by Warren Buffett. [34] [35]
In recent years, Harder has also represented Binance and the Winklevoss brothers in lawsuits. [36] [37]
In June 2025, he was appointed as the U.S. Special Envoy for Best Future Generations at the United States Department of State. [38] In this role, he works on child protection and well-being issues worldwide, including food security, education, healthcare, water and sanitation access, and efforts to end child labor, trafficking, and recruitment of children into gangs and armed conflict. [39]
In 2021, Harder published Gawker Slayer: The Professional and Personal Adventures of Famed Attorney Charles Harder. The book includes accounts of several high-profile cases from his career, including the Bollea v. Gawker case. [40]
Harder bicycled across the US at age of 19. [10]
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