Kwame Omari Christian

Kwame Christian joined Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP in August 2020 where he serves as Of Counsel. His practice focuses on representing closely-held businesses and their owners in a broad scope of legal needs including business formation and structuring, finance, transactions (including acquisitions and contract preparation and analysis), employment, and general business and legal counseling.

He is the Director of the American Negotiation Institute (ANI) and a subject matter expert in the field of negotiation and conflict resolution. Kwame has conducted workshops throughout North America and abroad and is a highly sought-after national keynote speaker.

Kwame is the host of the Negotiate Anything Podcast. With over 2 million downloads, listeners in over 180 countries, and over 300 five star reviews, it’s the most popular negotiation podcast in the world.

Education and Teaching

Kwame received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Public Policy from The Ohio State University, and his Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Otterbein University’s MBA program, as well as The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law dispute resolution program.

Kwame was listed as one of Ohio Super Lawyers magazine’s “Rising Stars” for 2017, a rating given to no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Community Service

Over the years, Kwame has volunteered his time with various community outreach programs. He was a member of the United Way of Central Ohio LINC Steering Committee, who organized a book drive with the Ohio State Bar Association, providing over 20 boxes of books for underprivileged children in Central Ohio. He was an active volunteer with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus and a volunteer attorney at Stowe Mission where he counseled the board in the start-up of a free legal clinic for the at-risk population in south Columbus.

He was previously a national board member of WELD (Women for Economic and Leadership Development), and former board member of Wright Choice Inc. Kwame worked to bridge the education-to-workforce gap and eliminate barriers to employment for students with disabilities and minorities as a board member of the Columbus Urban League Youth Professionals, where he was a co-chair of the Education & Youth services initiative.

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Kwame was among the chosen task force of judges, mediators, and attorneys selected by the Supreme Court to propose creative dispute resolution solutions for the backlog of evictions cases. He responded to this unique challenge to find solutions that are efficient, fair and respectful of all parties involved.