Christina M. Schwing

Practice Areas

Litigation and Dispute Resolution | Class Action Litigation and Arbitration | Construction | Product Liability | Healthcare & Life Sciences | Energy | Consumer Protection Defense and Compliance | Hospital-Based Systems

Career

Christina "Chris" M. Schwing is an attorney in Holland & Knight's Jacksonville office. Ms. Schwing is a commercial trial lawyer who focuses her practice on representing companies in class actions, mass actions and multidistrict litigations (MDLs). She has defended companies in these types of cases in numerous states around the country in both state and federal courts. Ms. Schwing has defended numerous multimillion-dollar class actions, including in the areas of energy, product liability, consumer claims, toxic torts and construction defect.

In addition to her class action practice, Ms. Schwing represents healthcare clients in connection with antitrust, false claims investigations, breach of contract and fiduciary duty claims. She also assists and represents healthcare clients with investigations and litigation when faced with data privacy breaches involving protected health information.

Ms. Schwing spends significant time representing cooperatives in all aspects of cooperative operations, including legal compliance, corporate governance, management and director training, and capital credit and equity management planning. She regularly counsels cooperatives concerning director elections and takeover attempts. She defends cooperatives facing high-stakes litigation and has achieved widespread success for her clients facing complicated lawsuits and arbitrations.

Ms. Schwing litigates complex commercial and corporate control fiduciary duty disputes, as well as a full range of business tort actions. She also is experienced in handling product liability, product recall disputes, warranty claims, insurance defense and construction defect matters. Ms. Schwing also has specific experience representing defendants in the energy, healthcare, construction, environmental and transportation industries. Among others, she has represented manufacturers, electric cooperatives, insurers, architects, developers and business owners.

In addition, Ms. Schwing has extensive experience handling e-discovery and technology matters for clients, including a data breach case that involved stolen computer equipment containing protected health information. She assists clients in preparation of data security policies and breach response and notification.

(Christina Schwing) is incredibly intelligent, knowledgeable about the industry and tenacious about getting the result we ask for. She is a valuable adviser and would be the first person I would call if there was a crisis.

– Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers 2021

Representative Environmental and Toxic Tort Engagements

Representing clients to defeat environmental nuisance claims

Defending clients in high-stakes mass toxic tort cases involving claims of property damage and personal injury caused by environmental contamination

Defending clients in class actions involving claims for medical monitoring and property damage resulting from toxic dust and ash

Defending a company against a multimillion-dollar Legionnaires' disease claim

Representative Energy Engagements

Defending numerous electric cooperatives in class actions concerning patronage capital, cooperative governance and excess revenue disputes

Representing cooperatives to compel arbitration of putative class actions and successfully win appeals on these issues

Assisting statewide associations and electric cooperatives with respect to legislation impacting electric cooperatives

Advising distribution cooperatives, generation and transmission cooperatives (G&Ts) and statewide associations regarding legal issues and best practices, including with respect to governing laws and legal principles, governance, operations and patronage capital

Establishing broadband entities and preparing all policies, agreements and governance documents for such entities

Representative Construction Engagements

Representing manufacturers and suppliers in construction defect litigation and class actions

Representing general contractors, subcontractors and developers in all types of construction related disputes, including issues relating to compliance with building codes and other building regulations and standards

Resolving hundreds of claims on behalf of manufacturers and suppliers in the areas of breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraud, strict liability and other related matters

Representative Product Liability Engagements

Representing large manufacturers of commercial and residential windows and doors in product defect issues

Representing product manufacturers in national class action and hundreds of individual property damage claims

Representing product manufacturers in connection with catastrophic property and personal injury claims in the United States and other countries

Representative Commercial Engagements

Representing clients by defeating multimillion-dollar trade secret claim

Representing transportation clients in connection with contractual and agent disputes

Representing commercial clients in multimillion-dollar disputes in the areas of fraud and deceptive and unfair trade practices

Defending commercial clients in class actions involving environmental and defective product claims

Representative Healthcare Engagements

Representing clients relating to compliance with the No Surprises Act and defending claims brought under the Act

Defending False Claims Act matters

Representing health insurers and HMOs involving Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) claims

Representing companies impacted by data breaches when protected health information is involved

Negotiating and litigating disputes between providers and payors

Representing healthcare companies in antitrust litigation

Representing several major health insurers and individual investigators against claims involving antitrust, conspiracy, fraud, defamation and tortious interference with contract

Ms. Schwing graduated first in her class from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she also served on the Florida Law Review.

Professional Memberships

Ability Housing of North East Florida, Executive Committee, Secretary, 2005-2009

Chester Bedell Inn of Court

Jacksonville Bar Association

American Bar Association

Pre-Law Society at the University of North Florida Board of Advisors

Federal Bar Association

The Florida Bar, Trial Practice Section

Jacksonville Women's Leadership Forum Inc., Immediate Past President and Chairwoman

Education