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Chris Conley brings seasoned leadership to complex litigation matters, with a proven track record of major tort and contract disputes across Washington’s superior and appellate courts. Having relocated to Seattle in 2021 from Georgia, Chris immediately began leveraging his litigation acumen in the Pacific Northwest.
LITIGATION AND TRIAL ADVOCACY
Chris has served as lead trial counsel in high-stakes tort, contract and commercial liability matters, including multi-week jury trials in Washington’s superior courts. He has developed a deep reputation for managing complex factual records, coordinating expert-driven disputes and presenting cohesive trial narratives to juries in cases involving significant exposure.
His tort litigation experience spans the full spectrum of claims—negligence, misrepresentation, trespass, nuisance, fraud, and related liability theories—frequently in matters where the financial and operational stakes for his clients are substantial. Chris has successfully defended clients through full trials to verdict, secured favorable dismissals and summary judgments, and achieved positive outcomes on post-trial motions and appellate review.
In addition to his tort work, Chris has substantial experience litigating sophisticated contract disputes. He regularly handles breach-of-contract actions, indemnity and risk-allocation fights, change-order and scope-of-work disagreements, and contract-interpretation issues arising in both commercial and construction contexts. Chris has tried and resolved contract cases involving multimillion-dollar claims, and he is known for distilling complex contractual frameworks—whether standard-form agreements or highly customized project documents—into persuasive, trial-ready arguments.
Whether before a jury, a judge or on appeal, Chris has repeatedly briefed and argued novel questions of law, helped shape Washington precedent and delivered results that reflect the strategic focus and courtroom presence of a seasoned trial attorney.
STRATEGIC RESOLUTION AND NEGOTIATION
Chris is highly skilled at recognizing when a client’s best outcome is achieved not through extended litigation, but through a timely and strategically crafted settlement. Drawing on years of complex trial and appellate experience, he quickly identifies the inflection points in a case—legal, factual, financial, and practical—that create leverage for resolution. His approach balances rigorous legal analysis with a clear understanding of business realities, risk exposure, and long-term client objectives.
Chris excels in alternative dispute resolution and has resolved numerous high-stakes matters through direct negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. He is adept at building negotiation strategies tailored to the personalities, pressures, and incentives on both sides of a dispute. His ability to distill complex issues into compelling settlement positions, combined with a calm and confident presence in mediation, consistently leads to efficient, favorable outcomes for his clients.
Whether pursuing an early resolution or preparing a case for trial, Chris’s focus remains the same: achieving the most effective result for his clients through strategic, informed, and pragmatic advocacy.
APPELLATE WORK
A member of the firm’s Appellate Advocacy team, Chris has significant experience litigating complex, novel legal issues before Washington’s appellate and supreme courts. His appellate work naturally grew out of a trial practice that frequently generates dispositive motions and appeals involving unsettled areas of law.
In 2021, Chris represented a commercial greenhouse operator facing nuisance claims brought by neighboring landowners. He secured a complete summary judgment victory at the trial-court level and continued that success on appeal. The plaintiffs challenged the ruling, raising a “light nuisance” theory that had never before been addressed by the appellate courts. Chris drafted multiple rounds of briefing and delivered oral argument before the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the summary judgment order in full—establishing important guidance on the limits of nuisance liability for agricultural and greenhouse operations.
Chris has continued this trajectory of success in Washington by prevailing in numerous additional appellate matters. In several recent cases, he not only won on summary judgment at the trial level but also successfully defended those rulings on appeal, persuading the Court of Appeals to affirm favorable outcomes for his clients. His appellate experience spans tort, contract, agricultural, and construction disputes, including issues involving statutory interpretation, and evidentiary challenges.
CONTRACT REVIEW AND DRAFTING
Chris’ practice has heavily focused on contract review, drafting and advising. For businesses and individuals in need of contract services, Chris can offer guidance based on a depth of experience. By both preparing contracts on the front end and resolving contract disputes on the back end, Chris has acquired a well-rounded perspective for counseling clients on contract matters.
CONSTRUCTION LAW
Chris represents a broad array of contractors throughout Washington, general contractors, subcontractors and design-builders, in defense of negligent construction claims, delay/disruption actions and contract disputes. He understands the practical and legal pressures facing contractors in our region, and he brings both substantive construction law knowledge and seasoned litigation strategy to those matters.
In 2018, Chris represented a general contractor defending a multi-million dollar negligent construction claim in the Middle District of Georgia. That litigation was resolved after Chris successfully briefed a certified question at the Supreme Court of Georgia which ruled in the general contractor’s favor on novel issues of law. Chris went on to file a motion for summary judgment based on the Supreme Court’s favorable finding, and the matter was resolved in the general contractor’s favor.
CROP INSURANCE
Since developing a crop-insurance practice in 2017, Chris has become a trusted advocate in complex crop-insurance disputes, representing both approved insurance providers and agricultural producers in arbitration and litigation under the Federal Crop Insurance Act. He has handled a wide range of matters involving multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI), whole-farm revenue (WFR) policies, indemnity challenges and coverage-interpretation disputes, and he has appeared in arbitrations across the country on behalf of insurers and policyholders alike.
Earlier in his practice, Chris represented approved insurance providers in numerous contested claims, including high-exposure MPCI and WFR matters. In one notable 2019 arbitration, he successfully defended an insurer that had denied a WFR claim; the arbitrator ruled entirely in Chris’s client’s favor, finding the denial consistent with federal crop-insurance requirements.
In recent years, Chris has focused his Washington practice on helping farmers and agricultural businesses pursue improperly denied claims. He has secured multimillion-dollar recoveries for wine grape growers and other producers whose MPCI and WFR claims were wrongfully rejected, ensuring they receive the indemnities necessary to protect their operations. These results reflect Chris’s deep command of the Federal Crop Insurance Act and his ability to navigate the technically demanding regulations and evidentiary issues unique to crop-loss disputes.
Chris takes pride in representing the agricultural community and remains committed to enforcing the integrity of the federal crop-insurance program. He provides practical, strategic counsel to producers throughout Washington and beyond, helping safeguard the financial stability of farms and agricultural enterprises.
GENERAL COUNSEL SERVICES
Chris serves a wide array of corporate clients offering numerous services including entity formation, contract review, contract drafting, legal issue analysis, dispute negotiation, liability planning, regulatory compliance, and much more.
TECHNOLOGY AND AI LEADERSHIP
Chris serves as a leader on the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Committee, where he plays a key role in evaluating, implementing, and guiding the responsible use of emerging technologies in the practice of law. He helps develop firm-wide policies on AI adoption, collaborates with practice groups to identify opportunities for efficiency and accuracy, and educates attorneys and staff on leveraging advanced tools while maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and confidentiality.
In his own practice, Chris integrates technology strategically to deliver faster, more precise, and cost-effective results. He uses advanced research platforms, data-driven litigation tools, and AI-supported workflows to streamline complex analysis, enhance briefing clarity, and improve overall client service. Chris’s commitment to thoughtful technological innovation reflects his belief that modern tools—used responsibly—can elevate the quality of advocacy and maximize value for clients without compromising judgment or legal rigor.
Outside of work, Chris is an avid outdoorsman. Prior to pursuing law practice, Chris was an outdoor guide in Wyoming. Today, he spends his free time hiking with his wife and border collie, Echo, boating in summers, and snowboarding in the winters. Chris currently resides in Maple Valley.
Education
Admitted to Practice
