In addition to being an attorney with McGuireWoods LLP, Chris is a senior vice president in McGuireWoods Consulting's State Government Relations Group. He focuses his practice on representing clients before state and local agencies, the Virginia General Assembly, and in multistate matters involving state attorneys general. Chris holds the CIPP/US credential as a Certified Information Privacy Professional from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).
Chris has built extensive state and local relationships through being involved in Virginia politics and legislative policy for more than 25 years. He served for three years in the Virginia attorney general’s office as special counsel and then chief counsel to the attorney general. In those positions, Chris sat at the intersection of the law, policy and press. Additionally, he was responsible for heading the attorney general’s legislative efforts resulting in more than 100 pieces of legislation being enacted into law. He also oversaw the official opinion process of the attorney general, which issued more than 300 formal and informal opinions interpreting state law for agencies, legislators and the governor.
Chris also served as the executive director for a former governor’s political action committee, as legislative assistant to state legislators who now serve as the House Republican majority leader and as a member of Congress, and has managed and advised numerous legislative campaigns and served as campaign director for a Virginia gubernatorial campaign. He also provides legal counsel to local and state elected officials regarding campaign finance, election law, recounts, election contests and ethics complaints.