Business Litigation Attorney and Counselor
More Than Two Decades of Experience in Complex Dispute Resolution
Chris Ludmer handles litigation avoidance and litigation resolution cases throughout California. Chris has more than 20 years of trial experience and can help businesses and individuals reach the right resolution to complex disputes.
Unlike most modern “litigators,” Chris has personally tried more than 70 cases to jury verdict, in both State and Federal Courts. He has also litigated and reached favorable settlements in hundreds of other cases. Precisely because of his trial skills, he is able to advise clients when settlement is the best option and to negotiate for a favorable result. In all cases, his focus is developing innovative strategies to reach each client’s unique goals in the most cost-effective, efficient manner possible. All this is why Chris has been honored to represent a foreign Head of State, businesses from small local start-ups to large global corporations, individuals of all kinds, and is sought out by other attorneys to provide strategic and tactical litigation assistance and even “pinch hit” for them at trial.
Former Navy JAG Corps Attorney with More Than 20 Years of Experience
Chris Ludmer
Chris Ludmer dedicates his practice to complex civil litigation. Before he founded CL Ludmer, A Law Corporation, Chris served as JAG Corps lawyer for the U.S. Navy, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He was supervising prosecutor and senior trial counsel for the U.S. Navy Trial Service Office Southeast, in charge of all trials from South Carolina to Texas, the Caribbean and Central and South America. He was chosen out of more than 400 other attorneys to serve as the principal assistant at the Pentagon to the Navy’s senior uniformed lawyer and the legal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy. Chris was also civil litigation team leader in Washington, DC, defending the Department of the Navy in all manner of civil lawsuits.
During his military service, Chris was also a special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. He speaks German and Japanese and worked as an associate for the Japanese Business Group of Coopers & Lybrand.
In San Diego, Chris was a partner at a large law firm, where he honed his trial skills, but he decided to establish his own practice to deliver more personalized legal services to his clients. This position allows him to work closely with his clients to provide prospective legal advice by developing comprehensive litigation avoidance strategies and to understand the best means of accomplishing their goals when disputes arise. Chris also knows that sometimes clients just cannot avoid litigation no matter what they do (or don’t do). His advance planning and advice helps his clients be ready when the fight comes, and win it. He treats each case as the unique matter it is.
RESULTS-ORIENTED, TRIAL-FOCUSED
CL Ludmer is foremost a trial law firm. At the start of every case, Chris prepares for trial. This trial focus helps his clients settle cases more favorably, and win those cases that end up getting tried in the courtroom. But even cases that settle relatively quickly can place a heavy financial burden on business and individuals, breaking budgets and shifting priorities. As such, Chris often first works with businesses and individuals long before any lawsuit arises to devise dispute avoidance practices and policies. To mitigate risks, he reviews contracts with a trial lawyer’s eye towards potential gaps and ambiguities that leave the opportunity for breaches and room for misinterpretation. Chris provides guidance to business stakeholders and corporate counsel on terms that protect a business’s interests. He also assesses employee handbooks and processes, and advises company principals and corporate counsel on improvements that can avoid employee disputes, or win them when they arise. Because he represents both plaintiffs and defendants depending on the case, Chris is uniquely positioned to understand the proof and evidentiary challenges involved from both sides’ point of view.
But the reality today is that, despite a clearly drafted contract or a model employee handbook, disputes can still arise. Chris’s military training becomes apparent in the high level of organization, discipline and strategy he applies to trial preparation from the outset of every case. He presents a polished litigator who is able to deliver a clear, persuasive argument to judges and jurors.
An important aspect of being a seasoned trial attorney is recognizing when not to take a case to trial. Chris considers each client’s—and each case’s—unique characteristics, the costs of litigation, time frame for resolution and the potential outcomes when advising clients about their options. Chris’s success in amicably resolving disputes with opposing counsel is grounded in his reputation as a skilled trial attorney. Opposing counsel recognize his willingness and ability to take a case to trial if the other side refuses to settle for the remedies his client is entitled to. In addition to Chris’s skill, opposing counsel also respect his professionalism, fairness, ethics, and ability to fashion creative solutions that leave each side with dignity. That is why so many prior opposing counsel refer Chris new clients—a rare honor in the heated, ego-driven world of litigation.
View All Practice AreasINNOVATIVE, STRATEGIC AND RESPONSIVE
Law is not static or linear. Each case must be approached with fresh eyes to develop the best path to resolution, focusing first and foremost on the client’s goals and needs. Chris offers innovative guidance and develops creative solutions. He works with clients on flexible fee structures that are aligned with the client’s needs and objectives. He is responsive to the client and to new matters that arise during the course of litigation. The military adage, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy,” applies equally to litigation, and especially in trial, where the only thing predictable is the unpredictable. Foreseeing multiple contingencies, developing an adaptable set of strategies and tactics, and the ability to quickly shift gears during the heat of testimony, are skills that separate effective trial attorneys from mere paper litigators. Chris brings those skills to bear in every case.
11440 W. Bernardo Court, Suite 300, San Diego, CA 92127
Email: chris@clludmer.com - Phone: 619.332.3370