Christopher Morris Begins Five-Year Ladder in Bar Association Leadership

Minneapolis (06-27-06): - Christopher Morris has been elected as Secretary of the Hennepin County Bar Association, beginning a five-year sequence on the association’s leadership track.  He is scheduled to be president of the 8,000-member professional association in 2009-2010.

Morris was raised in Minnesota, graduating from Alexander Ramsey High School.  After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies from Harvard University, Morris returned to Minnesota to attend law school at the University of Minnesota, graduating cum laude in 1992. 

Following law school, Morris clerked for the Honorable Gary Crippen at the Minnesota Court of Appeals, a time he values as an excellent transition between the world of academia in law school and private practice.

After clerking at the Court of Appeals, Morris joined Bassford Remele, where he has remained for all thirteen years of practice.  A shareholder at the firm, Morris focuses his practice on representing businesses and individuals in commercial, insurance disputes, defending attorneys and other professionals against malpractice claims, and advising businesses on compliance with federal privacy laws.  Morris has been named as both a “Rising Star” in 1999-2002 and 2004 and “Super Lawyer” in 2005 by Minnesota Law & Politics.

Morris began volunteering with the HBCA during his first year in practice, joining its professionalism committee, eventually co-chairing that committee as well as chairing the association’s Finance and Planning Committee and overseeing the development of a five-year strategic plan for the association.  He looks forward to implementing that plan during his years on the Executive Committee.  Consistent with his focus on professionalism and ethics, Morris is also a volunteer investigator for the Fourth Judicial District’s Ethics Committee.

Morris believes that all lawyers have an obligation -- not only to perform pro-bono work, but also to participate in their local bar association, helping to shape the direction of the profession.  Morris believes the converse is also true: that the bar association has a duty to its members -- to provide quality services that contribute value through programming, and to promote camaraderie and professionalism amongst its members.

In addition to his practice and his work with the HCBA, Morris rounds out his schedule with a family emphasis, spending time with his spouse and two children (ages 6 and 4), and trying to set aside time to fish and golf along the way. 

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Photo available by email on request. Contact colleen@hcba.org
 
Interviews can be arranged through Duane Stanley, HCBA Communications Director at duane@hcba.org

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