Overview
Christian is an Associate in the firm’s transactional department where he focuses on real estate and business transactions, corporate and commercial debt, land use , real estate development, leasing, and general corporate and commercial law.
He has represented institutional, corporate and commercial clients, non-profit organizations, closely held family businesses, and high net worth individuals in connection with the acquisition, disposition and financing of real property and businesses; corporate structuring and reorganization; corporate governance and reporting; cross-border asset acquisition and strategic investment analysis; and general corporate and commercial matters.
Christian brings valuable client-side, institutional-grade experience and solutions to his clients’ matters. Prior to becoming an attorney, Christian worked in banking and finance and was the risk manager for the commodities trading division of a global investment bank and a private oil trading organization.
Christian is originally from Toronto and has lived and worked in Toronto, New York, London, and Houston. He has held former professional finance and securities industry designations and licenses in the U.S. and Canada.
Experience
- Structured, drafted, negotiated and reviewed commercial agreements across the transaction spectrum, including entity formation and organizational documents, purchase and sales agreements, commercial leases, corporate and commercial loan and security agreements, trademark license agreements, real property documents (e.g., deeds, encroachment agreements), joint development agreements, and asset transfer schedules.
- Advised clients on corporate and transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, entity formation, and governance.
- Managed transaction lifecycles from initial structuring and term sheet review through final closing mechanics and post-closing administration.
- Institutional buyers, purchasers, and sellers in commercial real estate acquisitions, including complex asset transactions and layered dual-transaction fee simple purchases.
- Borrowers, private equity firms, and bridge lenders in commercial mortgage transactions, asset-backed debt packages, and cross-collateralized intercompany financing.
- Closely held corporations, founders, and business entities in share redemptions, equity restructurings, multi-tier partner substitutions, and ownership buy-in transactions.
- Real estate developers, commercial condominium associations, and institutional partners in managing land subdivisions, regulatory compliance filings, master-planned architectural map modifications, and public roadway lot dedications.
- Landlords, commercial tenants, and agricultural operators in structuring and negotiating large-scale ground leases, long-term multi-parcel master leases, and agribusiness infrastructure agreements.
- Founders, managers, and corporate joint ventures in entity formations and conversions, and statutory limited partnership revivals.
- International property corporations, foreign parent entities, and cross-border strategic investors in navigating state corporate governance mandates, executive officer role transitions, and international tracking compliance.
- Real estate brokerages, international property owners, and time-share interest holders in developing international conveyancing protocols and multi-jurisdictional title recordation frameworks.
- Independent strategic advisors, capital introduction consultants in validating federal and state securities compliance, mitigating broker-dealer regulatory exposure
- Brand licensors in validating federal and state franchise regulatory compliance and structuring franchise-insulated trademark licenses
- Married couples, families, and trustees in structuring revocable joint family trusts, drafting statutory certificates of trust, and managing real property title conveyances to preserve state creditor immunity and municipal tax exemptions
- Affordable housing program participants and residential lessees in navigating state housing authority administrative review tracks, executing leasehold restructurings, and drafting joint tenancy lease assignments.
- “Commercial Real Estate: Sub-Asset Class Valuation Considerations.” Presentation to University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business. Real Estate Finance and Investment Class (RE 420) (March 27, 2026)
- “Commercial Real Estate: Deal Structure, Analysis, and Transaction Mechanics”. Presentation to University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business. Real Estate Investment Analysis Class (RE 674) (February 24, 2026)
- “Forward-Looking Liquidity Risk Management in Energy Portfolios,” Energy Risk USA. 18th Annual Energy Risk Summit (May 2014)
- “Overview of Energy Exotics”. Presentation at EUCI Conference (May 3, 2011).
- “VaR-Hedging a Multi-Asset Trading Portfolio: Prompt Equivalent Feel as a Reductionist Risk-Metric”. Presentation at EUCI Conference (October 6-7, 2010)
- “Managing the Non-Market Risk Aspects of Energy Market Risk: Hedging Organizational and Operational Risk,” EUCI Conference. Best Practices in Energy Risk and Portfolio Management (March 2008)
Honors
- CALI Excellence for the Future Awards:
- Secured Transactions,
- Land Use
- Contract Drafting
- Level III Chartered Financial Analyst® candidate, CFA Institute
- Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI), Canadian Securities Institute (inactive)
- Chartered Investment Manager (CIM), Canadian Securities Institute (inactive)
Affiliations
- American Bar Association
- Hawaii State Bar Association, Member
- Global Association of Risk Professionals (inactive)
- Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (inactive)