Christopher Davis
Managing Member
Chris is an experienced litigator and business lawyer. He has handled hundreds of commercial lawsuits for clients in state and federal courts around the country in matters ranging from basic contract disputes to multi-million dollar “bet the company” lawsuits. Chris also defended an MDL claim with potential damages totaling over $1B. Chris frequently litigates in the Federal Court located in Norfolk, Virginia, known as part of the E.D.V.A. “Rocket Docket.” Chris has particular experience handling disputes involving trade secrets, franchises, government contracts, commercial leases, business torts, and trademark infringement. Chris also has substantial appellate experience, including cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit and Second Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Virginia Supreme Court, and the Virginia Court of Appeals.
Chris spent seven years as in-house litigation counsel for a Virginia Beach-based publicly traded company. In 2014, he left and stared Davis Law, PLC (now, Davis, Burch & Abrams) to focus exclusively on his passion—representing business owners. Since then, the firm has grown to ten lawyers and now represents clients throughout Hampton Roads and Richmond.
Prior to becoming a business attorney, Chris was the C.I.O. for an Internet Service Provider in Buffalo, NY, specializing in Internet and network security.
Chris teaches as an adjunct professor at Regent University and currently sits on the boards of the Life Enrichment Center and the Radiance Foundation. Chris is a graduate of the 2019 class of LEAD Hampton Roads. He was named a 2016-2020 ‘Rising Star’ and a 2021-2024 ‘Super Lawyer’ by Super Lawyers magazine, a distinction received by only 2.5% of attorneys in Virginia. Chris was named a 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Legal Elite by Virginia Business Magazine.
- Supreme Court of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- Supreme Court of the United States
- J.D. and MBA, Regent University School of Law and School of Business, Virginia Beach, VA
- Graduate work in international politics, Hertford College, Oxford University, Oxford, U.K.
- Undergraduate work in Biblical Studies, Elim Bible Institute, Rochester, NY.
- Complex and Commercial Litigation
- Tort & Contract Litigation
- Trademark Infringement
- Franchise Litigation
- Real Estate Litigation
- Business and Partner Breakups
- Technology Law
- Intellectual Property
- In 2022, Chris obtained a settlement valued at approximately $1m for our business client involving business torts and government contracts. The settlement included $500k in cash, $200k in debt forgiveness, and transfer of securities.
- In October 2021, Chris obtained a $256,650 jury verdict on a breach of employment agreement claim. The award was dollar-for-dollar what was requested of the jury. Virginia Lawyers Weekly reported the story on March 7, 2022 here.
- In July 2021, Chris successfully defeated a lawsuit of over $3m against a Virginia Beach business consultant on claims of unpaid wages under Va Code § 40.1-29. The Virginia Pilot generally discussed the matter here. The successful outcome was appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, Chris argued the matter on September 15, 2022, and the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling on October 13, 2022. Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly reported on the final outcome here.
- In August 2019, Chris settled a multi-million dollar dispute with terms favorable to Davis Law, PLC’s client. Our client, a government contractor, had no written contract to support his position as plaintiff, and so we had to rely upon expert testimony to support our position as to industry norms. While the settlement is confidential, we are pleased with the six-figure settlement we obtained for our client.
- In September 2018, Chris reversed the tides in a seven-figure lawsuit against a Virginia Beach restaurant owner, defeated the plaintiff’s claims, and obtained a jury verdict of $255,500 for the defendant as counter-claimant. The Virginia Pilot reported the story here.
- In March 2018, Chris obtained a $650k jury verdict on contract and fraud claims for a local business owner in Portsmouth. Virginia Lawyers Weekly reported the story on June 11, 2018, here.
- In August 2017, Chris obtained a $3.8M jury verdict on a tortious interference claim for a Chesapeake government contractor. Virginia Lawyers Weekly reported the story on August 28, 2017, here, and later reported it as the largest jury verdict in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2017.