English, Lucas, Priest & Owsley LLP co-founding partner Charles E. English Sr. was presented with the 2024 William H. Natcher Award by the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association during its annual Law Day Ceremony.

The award was presented in recognition of English’s esteemed career as a member of Bar.

English is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law and has been practicing law since being admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1960. Upon returning to Bowling Green after earning his law degree, he served as the assistant coach for Western Kentucky University’s debate team and taught accounting, business law, and communication while building his law practice. He remained on Western’s faculty until 1999.

Charles’ primary areas of focus throughout his 64-year career include business law, banking, business and estate litigation, business formation and condemnation. He has handled cases concerning universities and foundations, and regularly managed probate, trusts and estate cases. Among one of his most notable cases was acting as corporate counsel in the formation, organization, financing, construction, and joint venture of a large ethanol manufacturing facility with a Fortune 500 company. He served as local counsel for Fruit of the Loom Inc. in federal court in various shareholder derivative actions against the company’s board of directors and officers, successfully defending Fruit of the Loom. Charles also served as chair of the Bowling Green-Warren County Hospital Commission and was instrumental in the conversion of the city/county hospital operation into a not-for-profit entity resulting in the creation of The Medical Center.

He has served on many boards through the years including the American Bar Association (ABA) Board of Governors and served as chair of the finance committee. He is a former member of the ABA’s House of Delegates and the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary. He has served on the Kentucky Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Committee and served as a member of Kentucky’s Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee. He is a life-time member of the Judicial Conference for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He is also past president of the Kentucky Bar Association.

The William H. Natcher Award was established during the 1994 Law Day Ceremony for the purpose of annually memorializing the life and ideals of William H. Natcher and has been awarded each subsequent year since. The award is presented annually to a senior member of the Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association who exemplifies Rep. Natcher’s characteristics of humility and high ethical standards, and whose life represents serving public interests over personal interests.