Experience
Christine is a Board Certified civil trial lawyer who focuses her practice in the areas of commercial and banking litigation as well as product liability, pharmaceutical and toxic tort litigation. Her clients range from national banks, pharmaceutical companies and chemical producers to local healthcare technology companies and business owners. Christine also teaches litigation skills to students at Stetson University College of Law as an adjunct professor of Trial Advocacy.
Background
Christine was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Tampa, Florida where she graduated from Chamberlain High School. She received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science with minors in both Zoology and Agricultural and Natural Resource Ethics with Honors from the University of Florida. Christine earned her Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. During law school, she worked as a summer intern for Chief Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich from the Middle District of Florida, and also studied at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa. Christine joined GrayRobinson in September 2001, and is a shareholder in the Tampa office.
Professional
· Bar Admissions:
- The Florida Bar
-- Board Certified in Civil Trial Law
-- Trial Lawyers Section, Member
- American Bar Association
- Hillsborough County Bar Association
-- Trial Lawyers Section, Member
-- Young Lawyers Division, Chair, Pro Bono Committee, 2002-2004; Board Member, 2004-2007
· Court Admissions:
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
- United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit
· Florida Defense Lawyer's Association, Board Member, 2004-2008
· Florida Defense Lawyer's Product Liability Committee, Chair, 2003-2004
· Defense Research Institute, Drug & Medical Device, Litigation, and Product Liability Sections, Member
· DRI's Product Liability quarterly newsletter, Columnist, Strictly Speaking
· J. Clifford Cheatwood Inn of Court, 2004-2006, 2007-2010
· Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers, Member
· Stetson Law School, Adjunct Professor of Trial Advocacy for Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring, 2011
· International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), Member
· Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, 2012-2013 Fellow
Civic
· United Way Women's Leadership, Member, 2006-Present
· Big Brothers, Big Sisters' of Hillsborough County, Leadership Council & Big Sister
· Lowry Park Zoo Advisory Board, Board Member, 2007-2009
· Leadership Tampa Class of 2005
· Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Member
· Bay Area Legal Services, Volunteer, 2006-Present
Presentations and Publications
· Litigation Strategies for Presenting a Twenty-First Amendment Defense, presented at the National Conference of State Liquor Administrator's Annual Meeting (June 4, 2007).
· The Defense Speaks: A Window into Florida's Civil Defense Practice, The Florida Defense Lawyers Association (2006). Christine authored a chapter discussing defense strategies for drafting interrogatories.
· Design Documents: Liability Traps and Escapes, September 2006, seminar sponsored by Lorman Education Services.
· Ray, J.V.*, Kimonis, E.R., & Marlewski, C. (2010). Legal, ethical, and methodological considerations in the Internet-based study of child pornography offenders. Behavioral Sciences and the Law. Special Issue: Adolescent Sexual Offending II, 28(1), 84-105.
Awards and Honors
· "Up and Coming Legal Elite," Florida Trend Magazine, 2006
· Tampa Bay Business Journal, Top 30 Under 30 Awards, 2003
· Florida Defense Lawyer's Association, James A. Dixon Young Lawyer Award, 2004
· Florida Defense Lawyer's Association, CLE Award, 2008