Chris’ practice focuses on defending consumer product class actions and product liability litigation at the trial and appellate level. He has successfully represented clients in multidistrict litigation, class actions and other complex litigation.

Prior to joining the firm, Chris served as the chief of staff and deputy solicitor general in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. During his time in public service, Chris won several high-profile appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Court of Appeals. Chris oversaw all operations of the Attorney General’s Office, supervising more than 300 attorneys and staff. He developed significant experience in constitutional law, administrative law, national amicus practice and governmental investigations.  

Chris’ experiences with both the state and federal courts have given him valuable insights into the judicial decision-making process. He clerked for the Hon. W. Duane Benton on the Eighth Circuit. While in law school, Chris externed with the Hon. Lisa White Hardwick on the Missouri Court of Appeals. 

Before law school, Chris practiced public accounting in Kansas City and St. Louis. He is a certified public accountant and served as Missouri’s deputy state treasurer, where he managed the state’s $4 billion portfolio and its banking and unclaimed property operations. Chris’ accounting career has given him insights into the financial aspects of litigation as well as a strong understanding of the challenges corporate clients face.

Chris serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law. He has also taught on the adjunct accounting faculty for the University of Notre Dame and Avila University.

Chris performs hundreds of hours of pro bono work per year, in matters ranging from criminal law to family law. He has been recognized as a “Pro Bono All Star” at the firm.  

Publications

The Imitation Game: Structural Asymmetry in Multidistrict Litigation, Miss. L.J. (2018) (with Dr. Isaac Ison and Dr. Jeff Lingwall).

Fraudulent Aggregation: The Effect of Daimler and Walden on Mass Litigation, Florida L. Rev. (2017) (with Dr. Jeff Lingwall). 

On the Road Again: The D.C. Circuit Reinvigorates the Work-Product Doctrine in United States v. Deloitte & Touche, 87 Notre Dame Law Review 1797 (April 2012).

Media coverage

“Up and Coming Lawyers”, Missouri Lawyer Media, August 2, 2021.