For nearly 20 years, Chris Ralston has represented clients on a broad range of commercial litigation matters. He focuses his practice in the areas of antitrust law, business torts, trade secret litigation and contract disputes, tax litigation, securities litigation and arbitration, direct selling and intellectual property litigation. Chris regularly advises multinational corporations as well as emerging businesses, serving as the main litigation contact for a number of the firm’s institutional clients. In addition to his commercial litigation practice, Chris is a member of the firm’s appellate practice and has been appointed as a practice coordinator for the firm’s litigation group in New Orleans.

Chris regularly litigates breach of contract disputes and enforcement of non-competition, licensing and distributor agreements in both state and federal courts. He has tried antitrust, securities fraud, federal qui tam/False Claims Act cases, large real estate suits and a variety of commercial disputes on behalf of his clients. Through his appellate practice, Chris has successfully handled appeals at each of the five Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Louisiana, the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

In addition to his legal practice, Chris frequently serves as a guest lecturer for several bar associations and has presented on topics including E-Discovery, social media issues, cybersecurity, data breaches and trade secret litigation to judicial colleges, in-house counsel and private practitioners. Chris has also contributed to the development of Phelps Dunbar’s eDiscovery Team, which serves to ensure that the firm’s lawyers are on the cutting edge of evolving legislative and jurisprudential rules that govern electronic discovery, using the best tools available to efficiently collect, review and produce electronic data for the firm’s clients.

Phelps Dunbar

Since our founding in New Orleans in 1853, Phelps Dunbar has successfully combined valuable traditions and progressive ideas to become one of the oldest and largest firms across the South. Our firm values practices that foster creative legal analysis and provide practical solutions to legal problems. Each of our five core practice groups – admiralty, business, litigation, labor and employment, and insurance and reinsurance – features attorneys well-versed in specific matters and industries that allow us to individually tailor our services to clients’ specific needs. It is our priority to understand the unique aspects and background of our clients’ businesses to achieve their goals. We recognize the importance of thorough and efficient high-quality services and draw upon the various experience that our attorneys have attained in specific areas to best serve our client base.

The combination of knowledge and experience at Phelps Dunbar contributes to our well founded reputation as a leader in the field of legal services. With office locations across the Gulf Coast as well as Raleigh, North Carolina and London, England, we are able to serve virtually all types of client legal needs across the Third Coast as well as nationally and internationally. Our regional capabilities ensure efficient, responsive and attentive legal solutions to a broad range of issues handled by our firm. Communication and collaboration among attorneys in different locations is valued by our firm to provide sound legal advice and quality services to our clients.