QUICK LOOK

Chris W. Altenbernd is a shareholder at Banker Lopez Gassler P.A. He joined the firm after serving more than 27 years as an appellate judge on Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal.  He served terms as the court’s chief judge and as the president of the Conference of District Court of Appeal Judges.   

Having written nearly 1400 judicial opinions on a wide array of legal issues, he now handles a broad spectrum of civil appeals, including complex torts, commercial and construction claims, insurance coverage issues, domestic relations and real estate.  He assists outside counsel with brief writing and conducts moot courts prior to actual oral arguments.

He served as a member and chair of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases. For more than two decades, he taught jurisdiction and standards of review at the Florida Judicial College for New Appellate Judges.  He is available to assist counsel with the preparation of jury instructions, verdict forms, and to advise on jurisdictional issues.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Banker Lopez Gassler P.A., Tampa, FL
  Shareholder, December 2017 to Present
• Carlton Fields, Tampa, FL
  Shareholder, 2016 to December 2017
• District Court of Appeal, Second District, Tampa, FL
  Judge, 1989 to 2016
• Fowler White Gillen Boggs Villareal & Banker P.A., Tampa, FL
  Partner, 1979 to 1989
  Associate, 1975 to 1979

PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

• "Legalizing the Appellate Introduction," The Florida Bar Journal, Volume 90, No. 8, p. 60 (Sept/Oct 2016)
• Co-Author, "Certiorari Review of Nonfinal Orders: Does One Size Really Fit All? Part I," The Florida Bar, Vol. LXXXVI, No. 2, p. 21 (February 2012)
• "Quasi-marital Children: The Common Law’s Failure in Privette and Daniel Calls for Statutory Reform," Florida State University Law Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 219 (Winter 1999)
• "Briefly State: The True Confessions of a Legal Grease Monkey," The Record, Journal of Appellate Practice & Advocacy Section, The Florida Bar, Vol. III, No. 1, p. 9 (April 1995)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• American Bar Association
• American Board of Trial Advocates
• American Inns of Court
• The Florida Bar
• Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases (1992-2004)
• Hillsborough County Bar

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

• The Greater Tampa Bay Area Council BSA, Past president and Eagle Scout
• Conn Memorial Foundation, Trustee (1998-2011)
• Florida Bay Area Chapter of the March of Dimes (1976-1988), Member, Executive Committee, and former Chair