Chris has been practicing law for nearly 33 years and focuses on nonprofit corporations, personal taxation, corporate law, estates and trusts administration.  He is a Director of the firm and a member of the Estates and Trusts Group.

Experience

Prior to joining Cohen & Grigsby in 2004, Chris was a Partner at Buchanan Ingersoll in Pittsburgh.  He previously worked as a law clerk for Judge J. Frank McKenna of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas.

Core to his practice is his work with nonprofit and charitable organizations assisting them in state incorporation and compliance matters, drafting articles and bylaws, litigation matters, applying for tax-exempt status and IRS audits.

Chris handles Orphans' Court litigation involving administration of estates and trusts and in guardianships, adoptions and the contesting of wills.

He was involved in forming a trust company for a large Pittsburgh bank which required approval from each of the courts in 25 Pennsylvania counties in which it sought to operate, enabling the company to legally exercise fiduciary powers and to act on behalf of its predecessor institutions.  He has helped evaluate and rewrite a book of standard trust and custodial forms for two corporate banking clients.

Additional Roles

• Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
• Member, Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh 
• Member, Allegheny County Bar Association 
• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association 
• Member, American Bar Association

Honors and Achievements

Chris is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.

He is regularly asked to be a featured speaker at professional seminars sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and he has written numerous articles, including the Journal of Taxation of Exempt Organizations.

He has given presentations at numerous PBI seminars, including "Preparation of Fiduciary Income Tax Returns," "Post-Mortem Estate Planning," "Fiduciary Taxes," "Orphans' Court Litigation" and "Will Drafting."

Education

• L.L.M., emphasis on taxation, New York University, 1989
• J.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1976 
• Phi Beta Kappa 
• Law Review 
• American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Contracts and the Law of Credit 
• B.S., summa cum laude, Lehigh University, 1970

Bar/Court Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania 
• U.S. Tax Court