Chris Donovan

Practice Areas

Appellate, Coplex Business & Commercial Litigation, Probate, Trust & Guardianship Litigation

Professional Memberships

- American Inns of Court Member, Michael R.N. McDonnell Inn:

President (2018-2019)

President Elect (2017-18)

Former Secretary (2016-17)

Former Program Director (2015-17)

- Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section:

Chair (2020-2021)

Chair Elect (2019-2020)

Vice Chair/Treasurer (2018-2019)

Executive Council Member (2014-Present)

Chair of the CLE Committee (2016-2018)

Co-Chair of the Telephonic CLE Committee (2014-16)

- Collier County Bar Association:

Treasurer (2022-Present)

Secretary (2021-2022)

Board of Directors (2018-2021)

Trial Law Section Chair (2020-2021)

Trial Law Section, Board Member (2016-Present)

Young Lawyer's Section, Former President

Second District Court of Appeals Liaison (2009-Present)

- Lee County Bar Association, Member:

ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers, Member

Federalist Society, Member

Publications

Welcome to the Sixth District Court of Appeal - Adverse Witness, Collier County Bar Magazine (October 2022)

Review of Quasi-Judicial Decisions - Florida Appellate Practice, Chapter 25 (12th ed.) (2022)

Standing in Quasi-Judicial & Administrative Proceedings - FMAA Annual Convention 2021 Notebook (July 2021)

New Year, New Appellate Rules - The Record, Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section’s Online Journal (January 2021)

Review of Quasi-Judicial Decisions - Florida Appellate Practice, Chapter 25 (11th ed.) (2020)

Come on Judge, you should just know the law! - Res Gestae, Lee County Bar Magazine (December 2019)

Come on Judge, you should just know the law! - Adverse Witness, Collier County Bar Magazine (November 2019)

The City Attorney's Guide to Land-Use Appeals - FMAA Annual Convention 2018 Notebook (July 2018)

Five common canons of interpretations - Adverse Witness, Collier County Bar Magazine (April 2018)

Two's a Company in the Florida Sunshine - FMAA Annual Convention 2017 Notebook (July 2017)

Holiday Gifts from the High Court - Res Gestae, Lee County Bar Magazine (February 2015)

Appellate Attorneys' Fees: A Trap for the Unwary in Florida - Business Litigation Committee Newsletter (Winter 2014)

Ten things to remember about getting paid on appeal - Adverse Witness, Collier County Bar Magazine (November 2013)

Experience

Chris is one of only two attorneys in Collier, Lee, and Charlotte County to have the honor of being Board Certified in Appellate Practice by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization. His practice focuses exclusively on appellate and original-jurisdiction proceedings in both state and federal court.

With over 18 years of appellate experience, Chris has handled over 200 different appellate matters involving a broad range of legal areas, including commercial, real estate, admiralty, employment, probate and trusts, family, constitutional, and administrative law. He also represents a wide range of industries, including local governments, businesses, developers, banks, and community associations.

Before joining Roetzel, Chris served as a staff attorney for the Second District Court of Appeals, and he interned for the Florida Supreme Court. At Roetzel, he has handled appeals before the Supreme Court of the United States, the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Florida Supreme Court, and all of the Florida District Courts of Appeal.

Work Highlights

- Represented nonprofit organization as amicus curiae in high-profile appeal concerning the Sunshine Law

- Defended HOA's judgment for unpaid assessments on bankruptcy appeal

- Successfully reversed $8 million deficiency judgment against guarantors based on a conflicts-of-law issue

- Successfully defended municipality on first- and second-tier certiorari review following an untimely FLUEDRA proceeding

- Successfully defended a business’ injunction prohibiting a former employee from violating a non-compete and stealing trade secrets

- Reversed a judgment that improperly relieved guarantors of repaying over $600,000 in outstanding debt

- Prevailed on appeal against a hospital that had negligently administered a recalled drug during surgery by arguing that the case arose under product-liability theories instead of medical malpractice

- Reversed sizable judgment against a commercial condominium association that a unit owner should not have received because the claim was barred by the statute of limitations

- Reversed the denial of a $1.6 million deficiency judgment owed to a bank despite the absence of a trial transcript

- Protected a school board's ability to keep educational records confidential under Florida’s Sunshine Laws

- Overturned the denial of a developer's building permit

- Reversed an order preventing a creditor from discovering a judgment debtors' assets

- Overturned a discovery order compelling production of privileged documents

- Successfully defended on appeal a federal judgment exonerating a city accused of civil-rights violations under § 1983 multiple times

- Prevailed in a probate appeal involving issues of standing and undue influence

Education

Awards