Christian Van Hise

Christian T. Van Hise is a multifaceted civil litigator whose practice is focused on commercial litigation, construction litigation, zoning, land use, and local government law, He has wide-ranging experience in the areas of eminent domain, zoning appeals, municipal code enforcement defense, pollutant discharge litigation, Florida Sunshine Law, and the vacating public rights-of-way.

He has also served as an advisor and counselor for numerous land development matters, including project feasibility analysis, development strategies and permitting. Prior to obtaining his law degree, Chris was a project management engineer with the Lee County Department of Transportation in Fort Myers, Florida, managing field construction and inspection for various projects including roadways, underground utilities, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, drainage improvements, and pavement management and resurfacing operations.

His technical understanding of how projects are constructed, combined with extensive hands-on field construction experience enable him to deliver customized legal solutions in all aspects of construction, including contract preparation, prosecution and defense of construction claims, and risk assessment from contract negotiations through project administration and claims management.

Chris is a former Assistant County Attorney for Pasco County, Florida, where he handled matters related to public works projects, infrastructure development, procurement and bidding, construction programming, claims management, water resource and environmental permitting.

He also represented Pasco County on the Legal Advisory Committee of Tampa Bay Water, the regional water utility provider for more than three million customers. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island (URI), Chris earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering.

While at URI, he was distinguished by the American Society of Civil Engineers, placing first for his balsa-wood bridge design at the New England regional ASCE student design competition. Chris earned his law degree from the University of Dayton where he was a member of the Environmental Law Moot Court Team and a national semifinalist in the Chase Environmental Law Moot Court Competition.

Education:

• J.D., University of Dayton, 1995
• B.S.C.E., University of Rhode Island, 1990

Bar and Court Admissions:

• Connecticut, 1996
• Florida, 1995

Representative Matters:

• Successfully represented a subcontractor against a general contractor in a delay claim dispute on a major hotel project obtaining an arbitration award in favor of the subcontractor in excess of $2 million.
• Successfully represented a property owner through circuit court trial over a disputed easement to secure permanent access rights to Sarasota Bay and a money judgment in favor of property owner client.
• Successfully prosecuted a property owner’s development rights appeal under the Florida Bert Harris Act against the City of Sarasota to obtain permit approval for maximized development entitlements.
• Successfully obtained rezoning approval for a major industrial project for a large construction contractor in the City of Venice.
• Successfully obtained approval from Lee County, Florida to “privatize” all public roads within a large residential subdivision in a comprehensive rights-of-way ownership transfer process for homeowner association client.

Professional and Community Affiliations:

• Junior Leadership Manatee County, Board of Directors
• Leadership Manatee County, Class of 2016
• Leadership Sarasota County, Class of 2007
• Sarasota County Traffic Advisory Council, Board Member (2002-2006)
• Miracle League of Manasota, Volunteer Coach