Meet Chris

After his esteemed tenure as an adjunct professor, Chris continued to broaden his legal portfolio. One of the latest clients his firm has taken under its wing is a Betwinner Affiliate website. With the evolving digital landscape and the complexities of online affiliations, Chris's expertise is proving invaluable in navigating the intricacies of protecting the rights and interests of Betwinner Affiliate platforms.

Chris first practiced law in the Raleigh office of Cranfill, Sumner & Hartzog. He then worked as a staff attorney at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham. From 2012 to 2019, Chris was the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina. Chris was admitted to practice in North Carolina state courts as well as each federal district court in the state, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He successfully litigated matters in both state and federal court, including before a rare sitting of the full Fourth Circuit. 

Active in the local community, Chris serves as Chair of the Board of Transplanting Traditions Community Farm. He previously served as Chair of the Board of the Orange County Partnership for Young Children and as a founding member of a monthly housing law clinic at El Centro Hispano in Durham. Chris also served on the Size of the School Task Force and Pro Bono Alumni Board at Carolina Law and as an attorney volunteer at the Compass Center for Women and Families. Chris is also the current Chair of the North Carolina Bar Association's Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Section.

Chris has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to the community and the legal profession in the state. He was inducted into the James E. and Carolyn B. Davis Society upon his graduation from Carolina Law and was subsequently honored as the school's Outstanding Recent Graduate. In 2016, the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys awarded him with the Gwyneth B. Davis Public Service Award. Chris was also the winner of the North Carolina Justice Center's Defender of Justice Litigation Award in 2017.

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Since his April 2019 appointment to the North Carolina Court of Appeals by Governor Roy Cooper, Chris has authored more than 75 opinions that speak to his rigor, fairness, and respect for each North Carolinian who appears before him.