Chris is a nationally recognized trial and appellate attorney with more than 35 years of experience handling complex national and international business litigation cases. He has taken many jury trials to verdict, handled countless bench trials and arbitrations, and provided representation in a number of precedent-setting appellate cases in the Second Circuit and the New York State Court of Appeals.

Chris represents clients “from the courtroom to the boardroom,” and is a highly respected crisis strategist. An important focus of his practice involves advising corporate boards, directors, committees, and top executives of prominent public companies on issues including internal investigations; criminal, quasi-criminal, and regulatory matters; shareholder demands; and governance. In addition, Chris regularly represents privately held companies, funds, and individual clients in significant litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States.

Chris counsels many New York City and international banks and financial institutions, and is a recognized authority on litigation relating to loan workouts, distressed debt situations, and bank practices and procedures. He is often engaged by lenders and investors for litigation related to complex structured financing transactions.

He has significant experience with litigation involving troubled or financially weakened companies, and he is known as a highly effective negotiator in business divorce cases, ranging from break-ups of professional practices to fights for control of privately held businesses. He also assists in structuring transactions, drawing on insights from the firm’s Corporate & Securities, Tax, and Real Estate practices to minimize litigation risks and costs.

Through his representation of Am Law 100 firms and individual attorneys, Chris has also helped to shape the rules for the legal profession itself. He was appellate counsel in two leading cases in New York involving the fiduciary duties owed by lawyers to their law firms. One of these cases, Graubard v. Moskovitz, is credited with fundamentally reframing the fiduciary responsibility of lawyers when they leave their firms.

Fluent in French and Italian, and conversational in Chinese, Chris is a go-to resource for many international clients seeking to advance their interests in the United States and internationally.