Industries

• Energy
  • Oil, Gas & Minerals
• Manufacturing
  • Consumable Goods

Practices

• Appellate
• Business & Commercial Litigation
• Government Relations
• Litigation

Biography

Carte P. Goodwin is the Member-in-Charge of the Charleston office and the Vice Chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. He is also a principal of CivicPoint, the firm’s public affair subsidiary. Carte’s practice includes litigation and appellate advocacy, as well as advising clients on government relations, intellectual property matters and commercial transactions.

A Legal Career Punctuated by Terms of Public Service

In a legal career punctuated by terms of public service, Carte has developed and managed a diverse practice and client portfolio, including extensive appellate and litigation experience, as well as advising businesses on matters including intellectual property, government relations, regulatory proceedings and commercial acquisitions.

From 2005-2009, Carte served as General Counsel to then-Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia, serving on the executive leadership team as senior advisor to the Governor and providing counsel on legal, legislative and policy matters to the Governor, members of the Governor’s office, and Cabinet Secretaries and directors of administrative departments of state government.

Following that four-year foray into public service, Carte returned to private practice in 2009, where he built a practice based upon a broad foundation of clients and practice areas. Earning a reputation as a strategic counselor and skilled attorney, Carte represented a number of businesses, groups, and individuals needing appellate and litigation representation, regulatory advice, or counsel on public policy. In 2009, he was appointed as Chairman of the West Virginia Independent Commission on Judicial Reform, along with Honorary Co-Chair Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The Commission was created to study the need for systematic judicial reforms in West Virginia. Following input from national experts, the state judiciary, members of the State Bar and the public at large, Carte coordinated the drafting and approval of the Commission’s final report, which was issued on November 15, 2009. The report made a series of recommendations that ultimately were enacted into West Virginia law, including the codification of the judicial vacancy appointment process and the implementation of public financing for judicial elections.

The following year Carte was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the passing of Robert C. Byrd, the longest serving Senator in our nation’s history. Within minutes of being sworn in, Carte cast the 60th vote to overcome a Senate filibuster and pass an extension of federal unemployment benefits for millions of Americans still reeling from the economic downturn. Serving until a special election that fall, Carte co-sponsored coal mine safety legislation and voted to confirm numerous Presidential nominations, including an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the Commander of U.S. Central Command, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Following his brief tenure in the Senate, Carte returned to the private sector in 2011, where his practice has remained consistently diverse, including a broad spectrum of clients, issues and fora. As a testament to his reputation among the judiciary, Carte has been hired on two separate occasions by the West Virginia Judicial Association (the association of all West Virginia state court judges) to represent the state judiciary in connection with appellate proceedings implicating the judiciary’s constitutional prerogatives.

Carte has maintained an active transactional, regulatory, and government relations practice. His experience and portfolio here are similarly varied, including counseling clients in connection with regulated transactions, government relations, government procurement and various commercial acquisitions. In today’s complex legal and regulatory environment, such work is often a natural outgrowth of the litigation, regulatory, and transactional needs of his clients. Drawing on his public sector experience, Carte offers insight to clients looking to navigate the administrative, regulatory and legislative processes in West Virginia.

In March 2022, Carte was reappointed by U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Charles E. Schumer, to serve a sixth consecutive two-year term on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. The Commission monitors, investigates and submits to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Carte is admitted to practice law in West Virginia only, and he will practice under the supervision of D.C. Bar members.