Chris is a near 30-year veteran of trial practice. He focuses on complex, high-exposure civil and regulatory litigation, including class action litigation, with an emphasis on technology disputes, cyber and privacy-related exposures, regulatory enforcement, and investigations. His relevant experience also extends to financial services, commercial disputes, and high-exposure adversary proceedings. He is an IAPP Certified Information Privacy Professional, and he has served as lead counsel on behalf of the Fortune 50-500, closely held companies, and family offices, and serves on Womble’s Governing Board and its Global Board.
In North Carolina and across the country, Chris has been lead counsel in jury and bench trials, administrative hearings, arbitration proceedings, and federal and state regulatory investigations and has argued appeals before both the North Carolina Court of Appeals and the North Carolina Supreme Court. He is frequently adverse to federal and state regulatory agencies and state attorneys general.
In addition to 29+ years of courtroom work for clients, Chris’ practice has evolved to include outside general counsel roles, in which he manages all the primary legal needs for clients. His business-minded, client-first, practical, and efficient approach to resolving disputes—reserving litigation as a last resort—is appreciated by business owners, executives, and in-house legal teams alike.
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Lead counsel in a $200+ million energy-related adversary proceeding
- Lead litigation and outside general counsel for a $900 million public healthcare entity
- Lead investigation/litigation counsel for industry-leading auto-mobility company
- National lead counsel for a non-traditional financial services company, coordinating cases against the CFPB and State Attorneys General across 38 states and two Federal Circuit Courts
- Lead counsel for leading nationwide full-service pharmacy benefits manager
- Lead counsel for publicly traded consumer finance company in connection with one of the largest administrative contested cases to be tried before the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks and Banking Commission
- Represented publicly traded technology company in a $200 million federal court dispute involving mobile communication technology
- Lead counsel for Fortune 100 National Banks and publicly traded finance companies in consumer finance litigation matters in State and Federal courts in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia
Honors & Awards
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings), Commercial Litigation, 2015 – Present
- Selected to the North Carolina Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) in Business Litigation, Civil Litigation, 2009
Professional Activities
- Federal Bar Association
- Litigation Counsel of America
- North Carolina Bar Association
- West Virginia Bar Association
Publications
- "Shelter In Place Orders: Are You an 'Essential Business'?", National Law Review, March 2020
- “Anti-Price Gouging Statutes — What You Need to Know”, National Law Review, March 2020
- “Brad Cooper: The Latest Reminder That Howerton – Not Daubert – Controls Expert Testimony In North Carolina”, National Law Review, September 2013
- “Is The 9th Circuit’s Decision on Trial Payment Plan Promises the Prelude to a Cautionary Tale?”, National Law Review, August 2013
- “Don’t Want To Arbitrate? Pay Attention To All Of Your Contract”, National Law Review, May 2013
- “4th Circuit Message: Delay Asserting Defenses At Your Peril”, National Law Review, April 2013
