Christopher Blake

Corporate/M&A

Real Estate

Corporate Securities

International Law

Christopher S.W. Blake focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations, and financings for a wide range of industries, including food and beverage, gaming, and real estate. As co-chair of Hahn Loeser’s International Practice Group and Corporate Transactions Group, Chris’ practice spans domestic and international transactional matters. Chris has worked with clients in countries in Eastern Europe, Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia.

Chris regularly uses his in-depth understanding of the complexities of joint ventures, distributorships and sales agreements to counsel public and private companies through determining the best approach to enter into a new market. Chris has extensive experience identifying cross-border issues and creating detailed plans for his clients.

Additionally, Chris represents foreign and domestic public and private companies as buyers and sellers of divisions, “going concern” businesses, equity stakes and discrete assets, and the financing of such purchases and sales.

On the financing side, Chris focuses on negotiating commercial lending, including senior, subordinated and mezzanine debt arrangements. Chris has represented governmental, institutional, and private lenders and borrowers in sophisticated transactions involving several traditional and nontraditional collateral.

Chris’ gaming law practice focuses on regulatory compliance, licensing, ownership structures and operations of gaming establishments in seven states. He has assisted with the diligence, acquisition and financing of more than 25 gaming operations, and has helped the acquiring parties become licensed by the applicable gaming authorities in each instance. He has also interacted with charitable and for-profit gaming regulators to coordinate on-going licensing reviews and completion of suitability investigations of key owners or employees of gaming operations.

Chris also has an extensive real estate law practice. With a wealth of experience completing surveys, environmental audits and other due diligence, Chris is skilled in facilitating the negotiation of purchases, sales and leases of commercial and residential real estate and mortgages, and other liens on such properties.

Outside of the office, Chris is likely to be found traveling internationally or taste testing exotic fare (often at his spouse’s urging), including a recent dinner featuring the Asian Forest Scorpion, generously doused with a spicy ponzu sauce. Chris emerged unscathed from the experience and claimed the scorpion was better than a Cambodian beetle. We will take his word on these culinary experiences.

International Bar Association, Member, 2008-present; Legal Practice Division Council Member, 2023 – present, Commerce and Distribution Committee, Co-Chair, January 2020 – 2021, Senior Vice Chair, 2018 – 2020, Vice Chair 2016-2020, Membership Chair, 2014-2016; Corporate & M&A Committee Member

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member, Business, Banking & Corporate Counsel Section

Alliott Global Alliance, Member, North American Advisory Committee and Worldwide Advisory Committee, 2016 – present, Board Member, 2024 – present, North America Region Chair, 2024 – present

Court of Nisi Prius, Member

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

J.D.

1999

University of Missouri-Columbia

M.A.

1994

University of Missouri-Columbia

B.A., Spanish and B.J., Journalism

1992