Christopher A. Walker

Christopher A. Walker advises and represents a diverse range of clients on matters of environmental law.  His current and former clients include large and small businesses, local governments, land banks, conservation organizations, farmers, and individuals. A former Ohio Assistant Attorney General, Chris has worked with virtually every facet of federal and Ohio environmental law in a career that spans over thirty years.

Chris provides guidance to clients and law firms on issues of environmental compliance and liability avoidance in a wide variety of contexts, including business and real estate transactions, environmental cleanups, negotiation of administrative orders, estate planning, and probate. Chris also advises and represents landowners, local governments, and community organizations in environment-related land use matters, including brownfield redevelopment, federal facilities cleanups and environmental impact statements. He represented a city and its community improvement corporation in the $1 billion cleanup of a former U.S. Department of Energy facility, and has advised parties in the sale or donation of conservation easements resulting in the permanent protection of over 1,800 acres of farmland and open space in western and central Ohio.

Chris began his career in 1988 as an Ohio Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Enforcement Section, where he served as lead counsel on numerous environmental enforcement matters relating to air and water pollution, hazardous waste, and public drinking water. From 1995-99, he was a member of the environmental practice group of Thompson, Hine & Flory, a major Midwest law firm.

Chris also serves as a mediator and facilitator in connection with environmental and public policy matters. For example, he facilitated a successful round-table discussion on drainage policy and water quality in northwestern Ohio involving county and township elected officials and staff, academic researchers, governmental agencies, and representatives from agricultural and environmental groups.

Chris has been active in legislative and lobbying efforts relating to environmental regulation and land use, and has provided testimony before House and Senate committees of the Ohio General Assembly.

Government Service:

• Assistant Attorney General, Environmental Enforcement Section, Office of the Attorney General, State of Ohio, 1988-90, 1993-95.

Education:

• Vanderbilt School of Law, Nashville, TN J.D. 1988
• University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio
  B.A. magna cum laude, English, 1985

Honors and Leadership:

• Past Chairman, Ohio State Bar Association Environmental Law Committee
• Past Chairman, Dayton Bar Association Environmental Committee
• Nominated Fellow of the Ohio State Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Ohio State Bar Association dedicated to public understanding of the judicial system.
• Nominated Fellow of the Dayton Bar Foundation, a distinction extended to lawyers and judges in the Dayton legal community recognized for having maintained the highest standards of the legal profession.
• Appointed to The Ohio State University School of Agriculture’s Advisory Council on Rural-Urban Policy Research and Education, 2002-04.
• Awarded the 2001 “Friend of Township Government Award” by the Madison County Township Trustees’ Association for assistance of local interests in connection with the controversial Darby National Wildlife Refuge proposal.
• AV (highest) rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
• Selected annually for inclusion in numerous peer-reviewed lists of leading environmental lawyers, including Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Chambers USA.

Lectures and Presentations:

• Environmental Due Diligence in Commercial Real Estate Transactions, Ohio State Bar Association (September 13, 2015
• Making Sense of Conflicting Standards for TCE in Indoor Air, 30th Annual Ohio Environment, Energy and Resources Law Seminar, Granville, Ohio (April 24, 2015)
• What’s the Fuss About Fracking?, Dayton Bar Association (December 15, 2014)
• Environmental Law Considerations in Estate Planning and Decedents’ Estates, Dayton Bar Association (November 7, 2014)
• Areawide Water Quality Planning, Ohio Sanitary Engineers Association (June 2, 2009)
• Wetlands and Water Quality: Implications for Agriculture, Ohio Agricultural Law Symposium, Columbus, Ohio (September 19, 2008)
• Wetlands on Agricultural Lands: Navigating the Regulatory Swamp, Water Management Association of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio (June 26, 2008)
• Mitigating Environmental Risk in Real Estate and Business Transactions, Ohio State Bar Association Annual Convention, Columbus, Ohio (May 15, 2008)
• Cutting Edge Air Issues: Climate Change, 23rd Annual Ohio Environment, Energy and Resources Law Seminar, Mount Sterling, Ohio (April 25, 2008)