Chris is passionate about helping clients grow, scale, manage, and transition their businesses with direct, pragmatic advice and advocacy. His clients value his collaborative approach to developing and implementing strategies through legal structures and tactics designed to enhance reward opportunities, improve control and predictability, and minimize risk.

Chris has extensive experience with drafting and negotiating contracts, business restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, financings, strategic partnerships, distribution agreements, licenses, governance issues, exit strategies, and sales and recapitalizations.

Chris works with clients in a spectrum of industries, including insurance, investment advisors, health care, manufacturing, distribution, pharmacy, hospitality, transportation, and accounting, as well as law, medical, and other professional service firms. A substantial proportion of his business acquisition deals have been for insurance, investment advisor, bank, and other financial service providers, with over 140 transactions to date.

He regularly assists closely held businesses regarding governance, risk management, contracting, and operational issues. In performing those services, Chris understands that clients need the right size representation, proportional to their needs and the circumstances of the representation. He believes that pragmatic legal advice goes hand in hand with managing the realities of business relationships.

Experience

Restructuring Engagements

  • Assisted regional accounting firms in restructuring ownership, compensation, and succession planning relationships.
  • Negotiated a succession plan between three branches of a family for control and ownership of large family-owned business.
  • Restructured, consolidated, and recapitalized medical technology group.

Buy-Side Engagements

  • Represented regional banking group in the acquisition of banks, insurance agencies, and trust companies.
  • Assisted a credit union in a series of mergers in a geographic expansion strategy.
  • Represented an investor in acquiring a luxury boat manufacturer.
  • Assisted a private equity group in purchasing a series of manufacturing companies in a roll-up strategy.
  • Assisted a national distributor in the acquisition of the assets of rival in a bankruptcy auction.
  • Assisted a national automobile dealership group in series of dealership acquisitions in a national roll-up strategy.

 Sell-Side Engagements

  • Represented AFAM Capital Inc. in its sale of its investment advisory practice to Kovitz Investment Group.
  • Represented the shareholders of Ahmann & Martin Inc. in its sale to Associated Financial Group LLC, a transaction valued between $48 million and $56 million.
  • Represented controlling shareholder in the divestiture of an insurance carrier, a deal valued at over $400 million.
  • Represented three long-term care pharmacies in deals valued in excess of $280 million.
  • Represented national building supply manufacturer in its sale to private equity group, a transaction valued in excess of $100 million.

Credentials

Education

University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., cum laude; Minnesota Law Review

Carleton College, B.A., Economics, cum laude

Admissions

  • Minnesota
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
  • U.S. Tax Court

Honors & Recognitions

The Best Lawyers in America, “Lawyer of the Year,” Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Minneapolis (2023)

The Best Lawyers in America (2021)

Minnesota Rising Stars (2006-2009)

News & Insights

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Affiliations

Professional Associations

  • Minnesota State Bar Association
  • Hennepin County Bar Association
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