Divorce and Custody Litigation

A wise man once said that a divorce involves four people: the husband, the wife, and each of their attorneys, and any one of the four can derail the case.  Chris strives to keep the case on track, while recognizing that effective advocacy in divorce and custody cases requires the ability to aggressively pursue his client’s interests.  Chris's experience includes a broad spectrum of matters, from divorces involving the valuation and division of complex businesses, to high-conflict custody disputes, to amicable separations and negotiated settlement agreements.  Chris also represents parties in Rule to Show Cause proceedings, child support and custody modification cases, and alimony modification cases.

Appellate Advocacy

Most attorneys will tell you that representing a party at the trial court level is very different from representing them on appeal.  The issues on appeal generally are of law, not fact, and therefore appeals require an attorney well versed in the law and the appellate process.  Having clerked for a federal appellate court judge, Chris has significant experience analyzing appellate issues from a judge's perspective, which is immensely valuable in handling appeals as an advocate for his clients.

Legal Research and Writing Support  

Through clerking for federal district court and appellate court judges, Chris learned to break down legal issues into their simplest and most digestible components.  Busy judges do not have the time for esoteric discussions of what the law should be in the face of binding precedent telling them what it is.  More often than not, legal issues are controlled by this binding precedent, and an attorney who does not know the parameters of the law cannot effectively represent his or her client.  Chris can help attorneys who lack the time to research the law themselves by providing an objective written memorandum of what the law is and how it applies to his or her case, or by crafting an argument in support of his or her client's position.