Charles R. Work

Charles "Chuck" R. Work was born June 21, 1940, in Glendale, California. He graduated from Wesleyan University (B.A., 1962), the University of Chicago Law School (J.D., 1965), and the Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M., 1966), passing the bar in 1965.¹

In 1966, Work became an Assistant United States Attorney in the criminal trial section. In 1969, he moved to the Superior Court Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, serving as Deputy Chief and then Chief of that division, responsible for prosecuting all local crime in the District, until he left in 1973.²

Role in PROMIS Development

In 1969, while serving as Deputy Chief of the Superior Court Division, Work co-directed the original PROMIS design team commissioned by U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Flannery, alongside Joan E. Jacoby (Director of the Office of Crime Analysis of the District of Columbia) and project manager Bill Hamilton (then a senior consultant at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co). The team produced the Prosecutor's Management Information System, deployed January 1, 1971, in the DC U.S. Attorney's Office. Work hired INSLAW to write the first version of PROMIS and maintained a close working relationship with Hamilton through the program's early years.³

LEAA Deputy Administrator

In 1973, Work became Deputy Administrator of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration via Presidential nomination by Richard Nixon and Senate confirmation, a position he held until 1975. In that capacity, he continued funding INSLAW and promoting PROMIS adoption through both direct grants and the National Center for Prosecution Management. Following Nixon's resignation, Work maintained close personal relationships with Ford administration officials and worked to encourage the incoming administration to sustain LEAA's crime-fighting programs.²

Later Career

In 1975, Work became a partner at Peabody, Lambert & Meyers. In 1983, he moved to McDermott, Will & Emery, where he served as Partner-in-Charge of the DC office through 1997.¹ He served as a former president of the D.C. Bar and in 1978 received the Rockefeller Public Service Award for Administering Justice and Reducing Crime.

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed him a member of the District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, the body that reappoints and disciplines DC judges.⁴

Work was appointed by the United States District Court as guardian ad litem of Vietnamese orphans who survived a plane crash in Saigon in 1975.

INSLAW Litigation

During INSLAW's litigation against the Department of Justice, Work served as co-lead counsel for INSLAW, bringing his knowledge of the program's origins and his prior relationship with Bill Hamilton to the company's defense.³