Chris’s practice covers many aspects of commercial real estate law, including big-box and shopping center retail, industrial, office and multifamily development, construction contracts, commercial lending and leasing, land use and development law.
He has counseled sellers, purchasers, landlords and tenants on the various issues associated with real estate acquisitions, dispositions and leasing transactions. His practice also involves counseling clients on negotiating the maze of governmental regulations affecting development in Florida, including concurrency, platting and permitting issues. In the banking and finance area, Chris represents institutional lenders and corporate borrowers in a variety of real estate and other asset-based financing transactions and frequently serves as local counsel on state and national financing matters.
Chris is a member of the firm’s restructuring team and distressed real estate practice group, and regularly works with special asset managers of national and regional lending institutions and special servicers of Commercial Mortgage-Backed (CMBS) loans on commercial loan workouts and forbearance agreements, foreclosures of real and personal property, guaranty enforcement actions, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and state court receivership proceedings. He has also represented lenders in the workout and foreclosure of incomplete construction and development projects, including partially constructed Florida condominium developments.
Chris is also a member of the firm’s transportation industry team and regularly assists railroads in the acquisition, disposition, leasing and development of railroad right of way and related rail and intermodal facilities. His representation runs the gamut from negotiating purchase and sale, rail crossing and spur line agreements with individual land owners to the assemblage of multiple parcels involving coordination among numerous sellers, local governments and regulatory agencies. He also frequently assists railroads with the historical analysis of real property rights and has successfully represented railroads in disputes with state agencies and local governments over the extent of vested railroad rights in state-owned and public lands.
He is past chair of the Jacksonville Bar Association’s Real Property Law Section, and is active in pro bono and civic matters, including providing legal assistance to a not-for-profit community development corporation building affordable housing in the city of Jacksonville.
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William & Mary Law SchoolJD
Research Editor, William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal
1998 - The College of William & MaryMA1994
- Georgetown UniversityBSFS1989
Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Environmental and Land Use Law Section, Florida Bar
Chair, Real Property Law Section, Jacksonville Bar Association, 2007-2011
Member, Real Property Section, North Carolina Bar Association
Member, Northeast Florida Chapter, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties
Member, International Council of Shopping Centers
Member, San Marco Preservation Society
- Speaker, "Advanced Issues in Leasing," Annual Meeting of the Association of Corporate Counsel, October 2, 2012
- Speaker, "The State of Retail Leasing in Today’s Economy: Current Legal and Economic Trends," Association of Corporate Counsel – Real Estate Committee Webinar, September 15, 2011
- Speaker, "Retail Property Acquisitions and Shopping Center Redevelopment," Lorman Continuing Legal Education Seminar, December 2, 2005
- Speaker, "Environmental Aspects of Real Estate Transactions," Lorman Continuing Legal Education Seminar, December 3, 2004
- Speaker, "Considerations Common to Big Box, Retail and Commercial Property Transactions," Lorman Continuing Legal Education Seminar, December 3, 2004
- Florida
- North Carolina
- North Carolina State Courts
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina
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Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, Woodward/White, Inc., 2018-2025
Selected for inclusion in “Legal 500 United States,” Transport: Rail and Road – Litigation and Regulation, 2021-2024
Selected for inclusion in America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Real Estate, Florida, Chambers USA, 2023, 2024
Named to “2023 Influencers in Retail Real Estate,” ALM GlobeSt., 2023
Selected for inclusion in “Ultimate Attorneys”, Jacksonville Business Journal, 2019
AV Preeminent Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
- Author, Tenant and Landlord Struggles During the COVID-19 Pandemic, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 31, 2020
- Author, "Chip-Enabled Card Compliance Will Hit Some Merchants Hard," Law360, October 16, 2015
- Author, Retail Industry EMV Compliance Deadline Arrives Today – Credit Card Fraud Liability Shifts, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, October 1, 2015
- Author, "Credit Card Fraud Liability Shift Arrives for Businesses," FOCUS, Third Quarter 2015
- Author, Credit Card Fraud Liability Shift Looms for Retail Industry, Password Protected, August 19, 2015
- Author, Supreme Court Denies Certiorari and Upholds Ninth Circuit Decision Rejecting Securities Fraud Claim by Condo Purchasers, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, June 11, 2014
- Co-author, "When is a Letter of Intent Truly Non-Binding?," FOCUS, First Quarter 2014
- Author, Federal Court Invalidates Department of Labor’s 2011 Tip Pooling Requirements, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, July 19, 2013
- Author, ADA Requirements for Pool and Spa Accessibility Go Into Effect Jan. 31, 2013, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, January 29, 2013
- Author, "The Proposed Changes to GAAP Lease Accounting Standards: A Status Report," FOCUS, 2012
- Author, "Two Cases to Note When Faced with Contract Rescission Claims," The Jacksonville Bar Bulletin, May 2008