Christopher M. Rigali

Chris is a first-chair trial lawyer who represents clients on both sides of the “v.” in state and federal courts. Chris handles matters across a wide variety of subject matters, with a particular focus on business litigation, crisis management, and government investigations.

High-Stakes Litigation

Prior to joining the firm, Chris spent over seven years as a prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as Assistant United States Attorney, Assistant Special Counsel, and Trial Attorney in the National Security Division. As a federal prosecutor, Chris handled several high-profile cases and successfully tried numerous cases to verdict. As Assistant Special Counsel to Special Counsel David Weiss, Chris prosecuted a former FBI informant for making false reports to the FBI about purported bribes paid to then-Vice President Joseph Biden, claims that were central to the later impeachment inquiry of President Biden. As Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chris obtained a trial conviction of a former Baltimore City Police detective who lied to a federal grand jury about his role in the planting of a pellet gun on a Baltimore City resident by other Baltimore police officers; the incident was featured in the HBO limited series, We Own This City, about police corruption in Baltimore. As a first-chair attorney, Chris led scores of federal grand jury investigations and appeared on behalf of the government in district courts across the country, including the Central District of California, the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District of Florida, and the District of Maryland. He has experience investigating and prosecuting cybercrime, money laundering, healthcare fraud, export control and sanctions, counterintelligence, foreign influence, and murder cases, among other things.

Chris previously practiced in the Litigation Department at Gibson Dunn, one of the country’s premier litigation firms. While in private practice, Chris represented clients in high-stakes business disputes and government enforcement matters. Among other things, Chris represented a leading daily fantasy sports company in bet-the-company litigation against the New York Attorney General’s Office. He also represented a social media giant in a sensitive investigation—which later turned into a Congressional investigation—over Russian actors’ use of the company’s platform to meddle in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. He has substantial experience litigating business disputes in the Delaware Court of Chancery and securities cases in federal court.

Training & Education

Chris began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In law school, Chris interned for Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Chris received his law degree, magna cum laude, from the Fordham University School of Law. While at Fordham, Chris won the school’s William Hughes Mulligan Moot Court Competition, and he also earned the Best Overall Competitor and Best Brief awards at The George Washington University School of Law’s national security moot court competition. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Brown University.

Leadership Experience

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Chris served as an active-duty officer in the United States Marine Corps. During his time in the Marine Corps, Chris led a platoon of reconnaissance Marines, including for a combat deployment to Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2009.