Education & Background

Christopher holds a B.A. from Tufts University where he double majored in Modern American History and International Relations, earning his degree in only three years. He holds a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University and, in addition to his admission to the Supreme Court of Ohio, he is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He is a member of MENSA®

As a neutral, Christopher has been trained by the American Arbitration Association, Ohio Supreme Court, FINRA, the American Bar Association, and the Early Dispute Resolution Institute. He is a member of the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association, as well as serving on the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the ABA’s Litigation Section.  He is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. He was chairperson of the Alternative Dispute Resolution practice group at his prior law firm, a leading Midwest law firm with offices throughout Ohio and clients across the country.

Affiliations

American Arbitration Association – Roster of Mediators & Roster of Arbitrators
American Bar Association – Dispute Resolution Section
American Bar Association – Litigation Section’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
Ohio State Bar Association — Dispute Resolution Committee
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association – Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee
William K. Thomas American Inn of Court – Master of the Bench (Emeritus)
Ohio Mediation Association -- Member
Mediation Association of Northeast Ohio -- Member
United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio – Federal Court ADR Panel
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio – Mediator
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Dispute Resolution Department – Arbitrator, Mediator & Business Mediator
FINRA – Arbitrator

Legal Scholarship

Christopher is the author of Baldwin’s Ohio Practice: Tort Law. Published by West (a Thomson/Reuters company) and also available on Westlaw, it is the only treatise on Ohio tort law in existence. The first edition was published in 2005 and the second edition was published in 2010. It consists of 78 chapters and over 6,000 pages thoroughly analyzing tort law topics such as:

Assault and Battery
Birth Related Torts
False Imprisonment
Liability for Motor Vehicle Operations
Premises Liability
Products Liability
Professional negligence and Malpractice
Psychic and Emotional Injury
Trespass to a Person
Ultrahazardous Activities
Tortious Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
Breach of fiduciary duty
Computer and Cyberspace Litigation
Civil Conspiracy

Consumer Protection
Conversion
Covenants Not to Compete
Deceptive Advertising
Defamation
Employer liability for injury to employees
Exculpatory Contracts
Fraud and Deceit
Independent Contractors
Interference with Business Relations
Intellectual Property
Interference with Prospective Advantage
Interference with Lawful Business
Interference with Employment Relations
Lender Liability

Christopher writes routinely and prolifically. In addition to the ADR-oriented articles in the Ohio ADR Journal, a complete list of publications can be downloaded here. He is also available to give presentations