Chris counsels and represents developers and other landowners in a broad range of complex litigation, appellate, transactional, and administrative matters involving zoning, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, platting, permitting, land use, annexation, landlord/tenant, drainage, historic preservation, constitutional law, fair housing, open records, open meetings, and other property and regulatory matters. Our firm does not represent residential tenants, however.
Before joining Miklos Cinclair, Chris was an assistant city attorney for the City of Dallas for almost 27 years, including serving as first assistant city attorney for almost 10 years and interim city attorney for five months. His primary responsibilities as first assistant included supervising all Dallas’ civil litigation and criminal prosecutions and working on special projects. In his last year with Dallas, it had the second lowest average litigation cost per resident of the 10 largest cities in the nation during the previous three years.
Since joining Miklos Cinclair, Chris has: (1) filed two lawsuits challenging a Dallas suburb's parkland exaction ordinance as excessive and obtained a $2,053,695 fee reduction in one case and a reimbursement of $350,400 in the other; (2) persuaded a Dallas suburb's officials to reverse a planning department's decision and allow a substance abuse treatment center; and (3) convinced the Dallas board of adjustment to reverse the building official's decision to revoke a building permit.
Chris has favorably resolved numerous federal and state lawsuits through trial and mediation. He also has successfully handled appeals in multiple appellate courts.
State | Status | Acquired | Updated |
---|---|---|---|
TX | Eligible To Practice In Texas | 1989 | 05/28/2022 |
Legal answers | 58 |
Legal guides | 0 |
Award name | Grantor | Date Granted |
---|---|---|
Best Lawyers in Dallas (land use/zoning) | D Magazine | 2022 |
Best Lawyers in Dallas (land use/zoning) | D Magazine | 2021 |
Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame | Texas Lawyer Magazine | 2014 |
Magna Stella Award for leadership for non-profit/government | Texas General Counsel Forum | 2012 |
Presidential Citation | Dallas Bar Association | 2009 |
Texas Super Lawyer | Thomson Reuters | 2009 |
Texas Super Lawyer | Thomson Reuters | 2008 |
Texas Super Lawyer | Thomson Reuters | 2007 |
Texas Super Lawyer | Thomson Reuters | 2006 |
AV Preeminent rating | Martindale-Hubbell® | 2003 |
Heritage Award | Black Dallas Remembered, Inc. | 1992 |
Certificate of Appreciation | Dallas Landmark Commission | 1991 |
Title | Company name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Of Counsel | Suster Law Group, PLLC | 2021 - Present |
Of Counsel | Miklos Cinclair, PLLC | 2017 - 2021 |
Interim City Attorney | City of Dallas | 2016 - 2016 |
First Assistant City Attorney | City of Dallas | 2007 - 2017 |
Chief of Litigation | City of Dallas | 2005 - 2007 |
Section Chief, General Litigation Section | City of Dallas | 2004 - 2005 |
Assistant City Attorney, General Litigation Section | City of Dallas | 1995 - 2004 |
Assistant City Attorney, Zoning Section | City of Dallas | 1990 - 1995 |
Assistant City Attorney, Prosecution Section | City of Dallas | 1990 - 1990 |
Association name | Position name | Duration |
---|---|---|
Dallas Bar Association | Member | 1998 - Present |
State Bar of Texas | Member | 1989 - Present |
Government Law Section, Dallas Bar Association | Chair | 2010 - 2010 |
College of the State Bar of Texas | Member | 2002 - 2002 |
Patrick E. Higginbotham American Inn of Court | Barrister | 2001 - 2004 |
Heritage Commission, City of Plano | Member | 1999 - 2002 |
National Alliance of Preservation Commissions | Chair | 1999 - 2001 |
National Alliance of Preservation Commissions | Board Member | 1993 - 2001 |
Publication name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
The Alliance Review | Asking for Trouble When Turning History into Rubble: How Dallas Razed Cain When a Landmark Was Illegally Demolished | 2011 |
The Urban Lawyer | Historic Preservation Concerning Private Property | 1998 |
The Alliance Review | Is Owner Consent Objectionable? | 1997 |
The Alliance Review | Is Your Preservation Commission Procedurally Correct? | 1995 |
School name | Degree | Graduated |
---|---|---|
Cornell University | JD - Juris Doctor | 1989 |
Texas A&M University, College Station | BS - Bachelor of Science | 1986 |
Conference name | Title | Date |
---|---|---|
Dallas Area Real Estate Lawyers Breakfast Discussion Group | Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick: Tips for Getting Your Client's Project Through the City's Development Maze | 2018 |
22nd Annual Conf on Land Use Planning Law | Post-Disaster Regulation | 2018 |
National Preservation Law Conference | Obtaining Damages for an Illegal Demolition of a Landmark: a Dallas Case Study | 2017 |
Monthly Meeting | The Big E comes to Big D: The Legal Issues Raised by Efforts to Contain an Ebola Outbreak | 2015 |
Summer Conference | Concrete Ways to Improve Your Legal Drafting | 2014 |
28th Annual Business & Education Conference | Boarding Homes | 2013 |
Top 50 Meeting | Mr. Mayor, Tear Down This Old House: Challenges to Demolishing Nuisance Structures | 2010 |
Case name | Outcome |
---|---|
City of Dallas v. Cole, 536 U.S. 936 (2002) | Client prevailed |
City of Dallas v. Vanesko, 189 S.W.3d 769 (Tex. 2006) | Client prevailed |
City of Dallas v. Currey, 2001 WL 1671160 (Tex. App.—Dallas Dec. 20, 2001, pet. denied), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1030 (2002) | Client prevailed |
2218 Bryan Street, Ltd. v. City of Dallas, 175 S.W.3d 58 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2005, pet. denied) | Client prevailed |
Cole v. City of Dallas, 314 F.3d 745 (5th Cir. 2002) | Client prevailed |
Posted by Caryn
October 19, 2018
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