Christopher M. Walters

Chris Walters has more than 35 years of experience assisting clients in the areas of real estate, business transactions, venture formation and governance, construction, public agency representation, and all aspects of project funding, development and management.

He has represented developers, state and local agencies, schools, lenders, investors, landlords, tenants, corporations and individual contractors, design professionals, health organizations, hospitality providers, and religious, nonprofit and community associations in a wide variety of matters. His representation of public agencies has included the State of Oregon, the City of Portland, the Portland Development Commission (now Prosper Portland), the City of Vancouver, and a host of Oregon school districts.  His representation of school districts has included structuring and implementing complex public procurements and contracts for projects built under public bonds with a combined value of over a billion dollars. He has assisted his clients in all aspects of their operation, governance, procurement and construction activities, and claims management. In recognition of his achievements, Chris has earned the AV^® Preeminent™ Rating from Martindale-Hubbell^®, American Registry. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

While Chris has provided professional guidance on many high-profile matters throughout the Pacific Northwest, much of his work supports clients with smaller, unique, and innovative projects. He has experience with a wide range of developments, including commercial projects, schools, land sales, condominiums and subdivisions, retailers, mixed-use developments, energy projects, and medical, infrastructure, industrial, warehousing, sports and high-technology facilities. His work has included assisting owners, lenders and investors in workouts of troubled financing.

Prior to joining Dunn Carney, Chris practiced for more than 30 years at Portland firm Ball Janik. During his career in Portland, he has served as the chair of the Oregon State Bar Real Estate and Land Use Executive Committee. He has co-authored the Commercial Association of Brokers® legal forms package, and the lease package published by the Portland Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), and has served as editor of the Oregon State Bar manual, Real Estate Disputes. Chris participated in the panel that authored the State of Oregon’s model rules for alternative contracting methods. He is a frequent speaker on real estate and business law topics, and serves on BOMA’s program committee. Before moving to Portland, Chris practiced for four years with Pillsbury Winthrop, the then-largest San Francisco law firm.

A long-time resident of Portland, Chris enjoys spending time with his family and friends.