Chris is a managing partner for the firm’s offices in Jacksonville, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia. Chris began his career with the firm in the Ft. Myers office in 1998, moved to the Orlando office in 2000, and opened the Jacksonville office in 2005. He currently handles cases in counties throughout Florida including Duval, Nassau, Baker, Columbia, Union, Bradford, Clay, St. Johns, Putnam, Alachua, and Marion. He also practices throughout the state of Georgia.
Chris handles General Liability claims including Automobile Litigation, Premises Liability, First-Party Claims, and Wrongful Death actions. He also handles Maritime Claims including Longshore and Jones Act claims.
Education:
- J.D., cum laude, University of Miami School of Law
- International Moot Court Board
- Deans Fellows
- President, Phi Alpha Delta
- Bar & Gavel Society
Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society - Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Sigma Chi Fraternity
- Reporter, Res Ipsa Loquitor
- B.S., University of Florida
Professional Affiliations:
- American Inns of Court
- Jacksonville Bar Association
Honors & Distinctions:
- AV® Preeminent™ rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Speaking Engagements:
- "Attorney's Fees and Costs," Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2026
- “Fundamentals of Workers’ Compensation,” Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg, February 2023
- “What’s In It For Us,” Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, May 2021
- “Introduction To Longshore and Defense Base Act Claims,” Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, June 2020
- “A Discussion of Attorney’s Fees,” Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, May 2020
- “Longshore and Defense Base Act Claims and Statute of Limitations,” Co-Presenter, Conroy Simberg Webinar, April 2019
- Multi-State Jurisdiction, 2013
- Preparing Responses to Litigation, 2013
Representative Experience:
- Successfully defended an out of state worker’s compensation lien against a Florida Third Party claim. The case involved an Illinois Employee who was injured in a hotel in the course and scope of his employment in Florida. The Employee received Illinois Workers Compensation benefits and filed a third party claim in Florida. The Third party attorney argued the accident happened in Florida and therefore, the Manfredo formula for calculating a Florida workers compensation lien applied, which only allowed for 6.8% lien recovery. Chris successfully argued that the lien arises out of the applicable statue and, after applying the Illinois lien formula, he secured nearly 80% of the lien.
- Successfully defended the employer and insurance company in Gearhart v. Securitas Security Services USA/Sedgwick CMS, which was handled before the JCC. The case involved the issue of whether the claimant’s total knee replacement was caused by his industrial accident. Worked in conjunction with Appellate Partner Hinda Klein who successfully argued before the First District Court of Appeal to affirm the JCC’S final order.
- Effectively argued a Petition for Section 22 Modification of a Permanent Total Disability (PTD) award under the Longshore Act. The Administrative Law Judge agreed with the defense that the claimant’s employment as a union trustee was evidence of a post-injury wage-earning capacity and determined it to be “wages” pursuant to the Act.
- Prevailed in a case involving Temporary Partial Disability (TPD) payments. The JCC agreed with the defense that there was no merit to the claimant’s arguments that her return to work should be excused pursuant to Section 440.150 (6), and the judge denied entitlement claims to approximately $20,000.00 in past due TPD. The claimant provided no evidence to suggest that she was ever temporary total disabled.
- Protected employer/carrier in the claimant’s appeal from a complete denial of benefits on a statutory employer defense in Bru v. Carlton Construction Co./Builder’s Insurance Group, along with Appellate Partner Hinda Klein. The Judge agreed that the claimant was injured on the property, but was an employee of the uninsured subcontractor. The general contractor could not be deemed a statutory employer. The First District upheld the JCC’s order without opinion and permitted the employer/carrier to seek trial costs against the claimant.
- Also shielded the same employer/carrier in the Petition for Modification of a Final Order based on an alleged Mistake of Fact. The claimant ineffectively argued that the judge mistakenly determined the claimant called the potential employer as the phone records did not show the phone call ever took place. The judge determined that the “mistake of fact” was due to the claimant’s attorney’s mistake, not the judge’s mistake.
- Demonstrated ability to obtain denial of benefits in cases involving claimants who fail to provide required evidence or follow procedure. In a recent case, Chris obtained a denial of temporary benefits from the date of the accident until the claimant saw an authorized physician. The authorized treating physician testified that he would be speculating that the claimant was off work and/or on light duty from the date the claimant went to the Emergency room up until his first visit with the authorized physician. The JCC found the claimant failed to meet his burden of providing objective relevant medical evidence and denied benefits.