For me, the practice of law is personal. I take pride in getting to know my clients and their legal issues. My hands-on approach to handling cases, whether it be visiting the client in their office or dealing directly with problems on-site, makes me a better advocate and counselor.
Chris Evans is an experienced trial lawyer in matters involving oilfield contracts, casualty litigation, maritime law and construction litigation. Chris has tried numerous jury and non-jury cases to verdict in both state and federal courts, most notably in the areas of major casualty involving product liability, personal injury defense, maritime law and wrongful death.
Chris has deep experience in the area of contractual indemnity and additional insured coverage. He has drafted, edited and reviewed drilling contracts for both business and litigation clients. Chris has also spoken numerous times at the International Association of Drilling Contractors on the topic of risk allocation in oilfield contracts
During his thirty-eight years of practice Chris has handled hundreds of matters for a wide variety of clients. Though the majority of his work has been on the defense side of the docket, he also has experience pursuing recoveries for corporate clients, including claims for breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation.
In addition to his trial experience, Chris has successfully handled appellate matters before appellate courts in Texas, the Texas Supreme Court, and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. His appellate experience encompasses a variety of legal areas including oilfield indemnity cases that resulted in new interpretations of statutory and contractual law related to oilfield indemnities. He has also represented corporate clients in arbitrations of construction matters before arbitrators with the American Association of Arbitrators.
“ I enjoy my work for corporate clients in the trial and appellate arena, but some of my most gratifying work has been representing pro bono clients in child custody and support cases. ”
Education
Bar Admissions
Areas of Practice
Acknowledgements
- AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
- Texas Association of Defense Counsel
- Maritime Lawyers Association
Related Events
Chris has developed a particular focus on the area of contractual indemnity and additional insured coverage. He has made several presentations on indemnity issues to the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC). He also coauthored a paper for the Defense Counsel Journal on oilfield contractual indemnity that was cited by the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in In re: Oil Spill by the Oil Rig ‘Deepwater Horizon’ in the Gulf of Mexico.
As lead counsel in Ken Petroleum v. Questor Drilling, 24 S.W.3d 344 (Tex. 2000) Chris successfully argued before the Texas Supreme Court in a case involving the interpretation of the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act and its application to an IADC drilling contract. Chris also prevailed in Sonerra v. Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co., in a case of first impression before the Texas Court of Appeals involving the interpretation of an indemnity provision in a standard IADC contract.