Attorney Profiles

Christopher J. Sears is a native of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As an undergraduate in the West Virginia University system, Mr. Sears served as a representative in the Student Administration at the Parkersburg branch and was also a member of W.V.U.' s Bureau of Finance in Morgantown. For his work in Parkersburg, he was awarded the National Collegiate Student Government Award. While at W.V.U. Mr. Sears was a member of the debate team and represented the University in numerous competitions at colleges and universities on the East coast. He was also a Resident Assistant, was named to the National Dean's List, was quite active with the Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C., and was the President of the largest student political organization at West Virginia University. During this time period, Mr. Sears also worked at the United States Department of Treasury Bureau of the Public Debt.

After graduating with a Bachelors in Political Science, Mr. Sears worked on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. for a United States Senator. He then moved to Columbus, Ohio where he assisted with the re-election campaign of the Governor of Ohio. Upon returning  to West Virginia, Mr. Sears then served as a staff member for the West Virginia House of Delegates.

While in graduate school working on his M.B.A., Mr. Sears worked for W.V.U.'s Vice President of Housing and Residence Life where he maintained an electronic information system for the payroll personnel division covering thousands of employees and a payroll of millions of dollars. He was then specially assigned to W.V. U.'s Expert Business Office where he assisted in the analysis of 13 departments with multi-million dollar budgets and helped develop cost saving strategies through reorganization, downsizing, and attrition. Also during graduate school, Mr. Sears served as a graduate research assistant where he conducted survey research pertaining to biomass fuel efficiency that assessed needs, problems, and fuel usage to Eastern U.S. companies. This research benefited the Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC), a division of the United States Department of Energy.

While in law school, Mr. Sears served as the Managing Editor of the West Virginia Law Review, was a Finalist in the West Virginia Lugar Invitational (trial advocacy competition), was a Public Service Volunteer, and had an article published in Volume 100 of the West Virginia Law Review. He also was a substitute teacher in the Wood County School system during his third year of law school.

Mr. Sears has been practicing law with the firm since 1999. He uses his rich and diverse life experiences in analyzing legal problems, furthering the interests of his client, and dealing with the many personalities encountered in litigation and the practice of law. He has developed a wide practice area including the defense of cases involving products liability, personal injury, deliberate intent, workers' compensation, labor and employment, professional malpractice, and bank operations and lender liability. He also provides services in the areas of estate planning, appellate advocacy, insurance coverage opinions, and presentations on legal issues that arise in special education and school law.

Mr. Sears and his wife, Melissa, have two children and attend Morris Memorial United Methodist Church in Charleston, West Virginia.