Christopher is an experienced shareholder lawyer and partner in BLB&G’s corporate governance practice group. Christopher’s practice is focused on breach of fiduciary duty litigation on behalf of shareholders against boards and senior executives. Christopher has led and been a key member of teams that have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors, improved corporate governance practices at companies, and vindicated fundamental shareholder voting and franchise rights.
Christopher was a key member of the trial teams in In re Mindbody, Inc., Stockholders Litigation (“Mindbody”); In re Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc. Merger Litigation (“Columbia Pipeline”); In re Appraisal of Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc.; and In re BGC Partners, Inc. Derivative Litigation. Christopher helped shareholders achieve precedent-setting post-trial victories in Mindbody and Columbia Pipeline.
Among numerous other of his notable recoveries, Christopher has led and been a key member of teams prosecuting a number of the firm’s most significant litigations, including:
- In re Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc. Merger Litigation (post-trial decision finding liability against acquirer plus partial settlement for $79 million for claims against the CEO and CFO)
- In re Mindbody, Inc., Stockholders Litigation (post-trial decision finding liability against CEO and acquirer plus $27 million partial settlement with director and director’s venture capital fund)
- In re Multiplan Corp. Stockholders Litigation (settlement for $33.75 million)
- In re Starz Stockholder Litigation ($92.5 million settlement)
- In re Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. Stockholders Litigation ($32.5 million and enhanced corporate governance protections settlement)
- 3-Sigma Value Financial Opportunities LP, et al. v. Jones, et al. (CertusHoldings, Inc.) ($19.2 million settlement)
- In re Vaalco Energy, Inc. Consolidated Stockholder Litigation (obtained ruling preventing Delaware corporations with unclassified boards from using bylaws to shield directors from being removed without cause)
- Fire and Police Retiree Health Care Fund, San Antonio, et al. v. Smith, et al. (Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.) (settlement consisting of $20.5 million cash payment, $5 million dedicated by the Board to implement corporate governance measures, and cancellation of an individual defendant’s stock awards)
- In re Tile Shop Holdings, Inc. Litigation (obtained temporary restraining order and settlement consisting of a $12 million cash payment and significant non-monetary benefits)
Christopher obtained his joint J.D. and M.B.A. from Villanova University School of Law and School of Business. He completed the four-year joint degree program in only three years. Additionally, Christopher obtained his B.A. in Economics from Yale University, where he was Captain of the Varsity Baseball Team. He is the co-author of “Entire Fairness Or Business Judgment? It’s Anyone’s Guess,” which was published by Law360 in 2015 and “The X's and O's of Football's Offseason of Discontent,” which was published by the New York Law Journal in 2011. He is the author of “If You Ain’t Cheating You Ain’t Trying!” and “The Shifting Meaning of 'Fair Value,' From Corwin to Dell: Recent Rulings and Reversals in Delaware's Courts May Spell Trouble for Investors,” which were published by The Advocate for Institutional Investors in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
Christopher serves as a guest lecturer on shareholder rights and corporate governance litigation at Columbia Law School, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law and the University of Connecticut School of Law. Christopher is also a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Connecticut Bar Association, as well as the National Italian American Foundation. He is a member of the Villanova Law Alumni Mentoring Program and the Yale University Mentoring Program. In 2023, he was elected to the board of the Villanova Law NYC Alumni Chapter.
Among his many accomplishments, Christopher has been recognized as a “Next Generation Partner” and a “key lawyer” by The Legal 500, as well as a “Rising Star” by Law 360. Christopher has also been repeatedly named to prestigious lists such as Benchmark Litigation’s “40 & Under,” Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers,” and the Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers’ “New York Super Lawyers Metro Edition.”