Butler Snow attorney Charity Karanja has been selected to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation Guide, which recognizes rising legal leaders shaping the future of the profession.
The annual list highlights attorneys driving innovation and excellence across key practice areas while demonstrating leadership, impact, and forward-thinking approaches in the legal industry. Honorees are selected through a combination of journalistic research, peer nominations and editorial evaluation.
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Charity W. Karanja
Charity is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets Group and is a Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) through the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). Charity has the distinction of being one of six women in the nation named to the 2024 Class of the Caren S. Franzini Fellowship, a merit-based program of the CDFA Foundation that recognizes outstanding women in development finance for their leadership and dedication to advancing the industry.
Charity focuses her practice on public finance, economic development incentives, and government relations and has served in multiple roles on public, private, and public-private finance transactions, and economic development matters, including Special Tax Counsel, Bond Counsel, Underwriter’s Counsel, Issuer’s Counsel, Lender’s Counsel, Disclosure Counsel, Trustee’s Counsel, and Developer’s Counsel. She has represented both governmental and private organizations in a variety of financing structures, including new market tax credit (NMTC) transactions.
Charity is a member of various civic and legal organizations, including the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), Women in Public Finance (WPF), and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). She has been selected for several distinguished leadership programs, including the WPF Emerging Leaders Council (ELC), the Mississippi Bar Leadership Program, and the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) Leadership Program. Her work has been recognized by leading organizations, including NABL, which featured her in a Member Spotlight, highlighting her career and accomplishments in public finance.
Charity has also been listed by a variety of notable industry publications, including: The Mississippi Business Journal Top 40 Under 40, ALM’s The Daily Report and Law.com’s Southeastern Legal Awards: On the Rise in Mississippi, The Bond Buyer Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers® Mid-South Rising Stars, Martindale-Hubbell® Silver Client Champion Award, Marquis Who’s Who in America, and The National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40.
As part of her continued dedication to the advancement of the industry, Charity regularly speaks and writes on matters relating to public finance and economic development. She has presented at conferences and seminars across the nation, including the CDFA National Development Finance Summit, the Spelman College Municipal Finance Symposium, and the National Association of Securities Professionals (NASP) Annual Financial Services Conference. She has also authored articles and peer-reviewed publications, including a financing toolkit for medium-density housing developments titled: “Financing Tools and Incentives for Developers in Missing Middle Housing.”
Charity earned her bachelor’s degree from the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law. She is known for her thought leadership, commitment to community service, and steadfast dedication to mentorship.
