Our Team

“The focus of my practice is to understand and address client needs in a way that adds value to their projects.”

Biography

A partner with Ball Janik LLP, Chris Walters has practiced at the firm for over 30 years. His areas of practice include real estate, construction, public agency representation, and all aspects of project funding, development and management.

He has assisted 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, Mr. Walters has earned the AV® Preeminent™ Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, American Registry. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

While Mr. Walters 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 Ball Janik in 1990, Mr. Walters practiced for four years with Pillsbury Winthrop, the then-largest San Francisco law firm. 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. Mr. Walters served on the panel that authored the State of Oregon’s model rules for alternative contracting methods. Mr. Walters is a frequent speaker on real estate and business law topics, and serves on BOMA’s program committee.

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

EDUCATION

• J.D., 1986
  University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
  Member, California Law Review
• B.A., cum laude, 1983
  Stanford University

ADMISSIONS

• California
• Oregon
• Washington

HONORS

• AV® Preeminent™ Rating
  Martindale-Hubbell®, American Registry
• The Best Lawyers in America list since 2018
• Recognized as one of “Oregon’s Top Rated Lawyers” in 2013 by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and Corporate Counsel magazine, published by ALM Legal Leaders, affiliated with Martindale-Hubbell®