Charles Ruff

Charles Frederick Carson Ruff (August 1, 1939 – November 19, 2000) was a prominent American lawyer based in Washington, D.C., and was best known as the White House Counsel who defended President Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial in 1999.

Early life and education Charles Frederick Carson Ruff was born on August 1, 1939, in Cleveland Ohio; he grew up mostly in New York City. Ruff's mother was the public relations director of the Metropolitan Opera, and in an oral history recorded shortly before his death Ruff remembered frequently attending the opera as a child, giving him a lifelong love of music.

Ruff received his B.A. degree from Swarthmore College in 1960 and his J.D. degree from Columbia Law School in 1963. Although Ruff ranked twelfth in a class of 235 at Columbia, According to his Washington Post obituary, "within the White House, Mr. Ruff was not seen as an obvious team player. He refrained from freely dispensing information to those who did not absolutely need to know the president's legal strategy."

In the summer of 1999, Ruff rejoined Covington & Burling, where he remained for the rest of his life; at the time of his death, Ruff was a senior partner.