Christopher G. Browning, Jr.

Chris is a highly experienced litigator with a strong background in appellate practice, complex commercial litigation, business torts, environmental disputes, and governmental relations.

Chris served for seven years as the first solicitor general for the state of North Carolina. He has argued five times before the U.S. Supreme Court and has had multiple arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the North Carolina Supreme Court, and the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

As North Carolina’s first solicitor general, Chris established the policies and procedures for that office and the process for the solicitor general’s review and management of all civil appeals involving the state of North Carolina. In addition, he served as an adviser to the North Carolina attorney general with respect to appellate issues and other policy matters. As solicitor general, Chris worked closely with virtually every division and section within the North Carolina Department of Justice, as well as numerous general counsel and agency heads within the executive branch of North Carolina state government. In recognition of his service as solicitor general, then-Governor Beverly Perdue awarded Chris the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for extraordinary service to the state.

Prior to working for the state, Chris was a partner at a law firm where his practice focused on complex litigation matters. While at that firm, he was part of a trial team handling one of the longest war crimes proceedings in history — a case tried in the Hague, Netherlands before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Chris recently completed a three-year term as a vice president of the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association and is a past chair of the association’s Appellate Rules Committee. He is among the first attorneys certified as an appellate practice specialist by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization and was appointed to the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Specialization Committee. He served as North Carolina’s representative to the Fourth Circuit’s Advisory Committee on Rules and Procedures.

Chris also served as the Fourth Circuit representative to the ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, is a past chair of the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division, and has worked on numerous other ABA committees and working groups. He is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Chris is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Chris has taught appellate practice at Duke University School of Law as a senior lecturing fellow. He is a frequent speaker before bar associations and other organizations on issues relating to appellate practice, complex litigation, and original actions before the U.S. Supreme Court.

• Super Lawyers North Carolina: Appellate (2013-2023)
• Best Lawyers in America®: Appellate Practice (2015-2026), Commercial Litigation (2016-2026)
• Business North Carolina: “Legal Elite” (2020)
• Chambers USA: Litigation: General Commercial, North Carolina (2016-2026) and Litigation: Appellate, North Carolina (2022-2026)
• Best Lawyers in America®: “Lawyer of the Year” in Appellate (2017)
• North Carolina State Bar Certified Specialist: Appellate Practice
• Order of the Long Leaf Pine