2006 NETWORKING® MAGAZINE’S DAVID AWARD HONOREE.

CHARLES STRAIN

Managing Partner, Farrell Fritz, P.C.

The common thread of community service
weaves its way through Charles Strain’s personal
life and professional career. Under
Strain’s leadership, Farrell Fritz financially supports
scores of charitable organizations and participates
in hundreds of events across Long Island annually.
He is also active on the firm’s pro bono committee,
whose volunteers donate many hours of legal services
to individuals and organizations that would
otherwise be unable to afford representation. The
committee serves, too, as a resource for companies
seeking to start their own pro bono programs.

“The bulk of what we do at Farrell Fritz is representing
individuals and companies in Long Island
related matters,” says Strain, “so it’s important to be
involved in our community, and encourage others
to get involved.” One of Long Island’s largest law
firms, Farrell Fritz has offices in Manhattan, and
Nassau and Suffolk counties, reaching out to
Bridgehampton and East Hampton on the East End.

Many of the nearly 80 attorneys at Farrell Fritz
serve on one or multiple nonprofit boards and advisory
committees, and take active roles in their communities.
Farrell Fritz’s partners, themselves, sit on
some 50 boards. Although board members are not
usually “visible” in the day-to-day operations of an
organization, Strain says, “the nice thing about
board activity is that you meet other committed

board members. The people that serve on boards
bring certain skills that are helpful to the mission –
often analytical skills that are put to work grappling
with problems and helping nonprofits thrive. Board
members also act as stewards for their communities,
so they want to make sure that the financial circumstances
of the entities are in good shape.”

Giving back is part of the culture at Farrell Fritz,
and its employees participate in walk-a-thons, bikea-
thons, races and other charitable endeavors. It’s
not uncommon to find one or more sign-up sheets
posted around the office, encouraging employees to
financially support their colleagues who are participating
in events. The firm actively engages in food,
blood, and toy drives and the U.S. Postal Service’s
“ Operation Santa.” The Farrell Fritz Ocean to Sound
Relay, a 50-mile race from Jones Beach to Oyster
Bay, attracts hundreds of runners and raises funds
for local charities. Numerous employees and their
family members joined the 12-hour overnight Relay
for Life walk-a-thon in June benefiting the American
Cancer Society.

As part of the firm’s mentoring activity, Strain
encourages young lawyers to assume a leadership
role in nonprofit organizations. He has “matched”
young lawyers with nonprofits whose missions
seem to fit the attorney’s personalities and passions,
and he assures them that their involvement in lead

ership positions can “affect change and bring positive
outcomes.”

Beyond his work experience, at the invitation of
a friend, Strain joined other volunteers at the
Leukemia Society in 1984, and served some 15
years on its board of directors, supporting the organization’s
research and patient aid programs.
About the same time, he offered his assistance to
the Family Service Association, and following its
merger with Children’s House, served as chairman
of the board for the newly formed Family and
Children’s Association.

Strain acknowledges the difficult work done
each day by the people at Family and Children’s,
adding, “…and they do it selflessly. You have to
admire people who are so dedicated in such a
tough environment.” In addition to helping raise
funds and introducing new people to the agency,
Strain says, “Observing and working with the
agency’s executive director, Dick Dina, has been
inspirational.”

Amember of the Council of Overseers of the
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, Strain has
been part of the Center’s growth and notes that
Tilles brings “the best in music, dance and the arts
to Long Island.” He has recently joined St. John’s
University’s board of governors and serves, too, on
the board of directors of Winthrop-University
Hospital, the Long Island Association, and the New
York Charitable Asset Foundation. He has been
honored by Family and Children’s Association and
the Tilles Center for his service.

“Getting involved with activities where people
are doing good work in the community is fulfilling,”
says Strain, “and it has had a leavening effect
on my life.”

Strain received his Juris Doctor from St. John’s
University School of Law in 1977, and his Bachelor
of Arts cum laude from Washington and Lee
University. “Testing the water” in the public company
arena, he helped form and worked in the
legal department of Long Island Trust Company
for several years before joining Farrell Fritz in 1984.
He became a partner in 1986, and managing partner
in 2000. Combining his interests in business
and law, he concentrates his work in corporate,
banking and real estate matters for large and small
corporations and businesses. He also represents
many financial institutions and serves as general
counsel to closely-held corporations and not-forprofit
organizations.

A high energy person, Strain enjoys practicing
law, managing the firm, and continuing to be
involved in community service. He welcomes
responsibility, and says that his involvement in
sports—as quarterback on his high school team and
basketball point guard in college—helped him prepare
to accept leadership roles when called upon.

In addition to the help he receives from his partners,
he acknowledges his supportive wife Denise,
whom he graciously says, “is the more talented
lawyer in our family.” Denise has served as the
chief tax officer at Citibank, and is currently head
of the tax function at Citigroup for all of their consumer
and asset management businesses.

The couple has two daughters: Caitlin, a freshman
at Brown University, and Alicia, a senior at
Sacred Heart Academy. Strain, who coached a high
school basketball team while in law school, also
coached youth soccer and basketball teams for his
daughters for a number of years.

NETWORKING® January 2006