Biography

Christopher Wheeler litigates high-stakes, complex civil cases with a focus on antitrust matters.

Chris, the incoming editor-in-chief of the leading California antitrust treatise, California Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law, represents plaintiffs and defendants in class and competitor cases.  In the antitrust class action against Sutter Health, a case that Sutter maintained “implicated California’s entire healthcare industry,” he led the Farella team that, along with the California Attorney General and co-counsel, obtained a $575,000,000 settlement and historic injunctive relief on behalf of a certified class of California employers, government entities, and union trusts.  The settlement represents the largest all-cash settlement in the history of California state court.  Chris received the American Antitrust Institute’s Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement in Private Law Practice award for his work on Sutter.

State attorneys general across the nation have recognized Chris’s antitrust expertise, retaining him in connection with both merger and conduct cases.  The Rhode Island Attorney General retained Chris to lead the antitrust investigation of the $4 billion merger between the two largest health systems in Rhode Island.  Following the Attorney General’s administrative decision denying the merger, the transacting parties abandoned the proposed transaction.

Named a "California Lawyer Attorney of the Year" by the Daily Journal, Chris has demonstrated his commitment to obtaining the best possible results for his clients in a broad range of civil litigation matters over more than two decades of practice.  He successfully defended a leading Silicon Valley company in a patent license arbitration against a competitor—backed by one of the world’s largest private equity firms—that was seeking tens of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties.  Following three years of litigation and an evidentiary hearing lasting 25 days, the arbitrator sanctioned the competitor for more than it recovered in unpaid royalties.  In a recent nine-figure LLC dispute Chris handled, the cross-defendant settled for less than 0.8% of claimed damages days before trial.

Chris brings an economics and market regulation background to his antitrust and complex litigation practice.  During the 2008-2009 U.S. financial crisis, Chris served as vice president and deputy director of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, where he led one of the first investigations into the regulatory failures contributing to the crisis.  He began his career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Chris has prosecuted and tried to verdict a number of criminal cases as a “loaner” Assistant District Attorney in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.  As a Bar Association of San Francisco’s Federal Pro Bono Project participant, Chris maintains an active pro bono practice.  He has represented an indigent family in an unlawful detainer action, a victim of elder abuse, and a family-run business in an ERISA action.  Chris also has won political asylum for refugee families, including a Laotian Hmong veteran of the CIA “secret army” and his wife and three generations of survivors of the Liberian civil war.

Chris is a member of the Executive Committee of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Section of the California Lawyers Association.  He is vice chair of the Antitrust and Business Regulation Section of the Bar Association of San Francisco.  Chris serves on the Executive Committee of the Harvard Law School Association and is a past president of the Harvard Law School Association of Northern California.  At Farella, he serves on the New Business and Partnership Admissions committees.

Distinctions

  • California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) Award, Daily Journal (2022)

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Member, Executive Committee, Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section, California Lawyers Association
  • Vice Chair, Antitrust and Business Regulation Section, Bar Association of San Francisco (2023)
  • Member, Executive Committee, Antitrust and Business Regulation Section, Bar Association of San Francisco
  • Member, Executive Committee, Harvard Law School Association
  • Immediate Past President, Harvard Law School Association of Northern California
  • Member, Antitrust Practice Group, American Health Law Association
  • Member, Antitrust Law Section, American Bar Association
  • Member, Litigation Section Executive Committee, Bar Association of San Francisco (2016-2017)

Firm Highlights

Event

In-House Counsel Conference 2024

Sushila Chanana is speaking on artificial intelligence law at the Bar Association of San Francisco's In-House Counsel Conference 2024. To register for the event, please click  here .

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Publication

It Wasn’t Me, It Was the AI: Intellectual Property and Data Privacy Concerns With Nonprofits’ Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems

In today's rapidly changing technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is making headlines and being discussed constantly. To be sure, AI provides a powerful tool to nonprofits in creating content and exploiting for countless cost-effective...

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Publication

An Introduction to DAFs and Overview of the Newly Proposed DAF Regulations

Welcome to EO Radio Show - Your Nonprofit Legal Resource. I’m Cynthia Rowland, and episode 62 describes new proposed regulations important to the administration of donor advised funds. The Internal Revenue Service and the...

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Event

2024 Environmental & Energy, Mass Torts, and Products Liability Litigation Committees' Joint Regional CLE Program

Sarah Bell will moderate the panel "PFAS: Everything Everywhere All at Once"  at the American Bar Association's 2024 Environmental & Energy, Mass Torts, and Products Liability Litigation Committees' Joint Regional CLE Program. Session Overview: PFAS...

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News

State Bar of California Board of Trustees Approves Plan to Pilot Portfolio Bar Exam

Sarah Good, a member of the State Bar of California Board of Trustees, spoke to KQED Newscast about the Board of Trustees's proposal to pilot a Portfolio Bar Exam.

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News

Proposal for Bar Exam Alternative Goes to California Supreme Court

Sarah Good, a member of the State Bar of California Board of Trustees, was quoted in The Recorder article, "Proposal for Bar Exam Alternative Goes to California Supreme Court." Read the article here (subscription...

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Publication

Wind Energy Project Approvals and Tax Credits Look To Outpace Macroeconomic and Supply Chain Headwinds in 2024

A snapshot of the renewable wind industry on October 31, 2023, captures many of the current challenges and opportunities for the industry and regulatory agencies heading into 2024.  That day, the world’s largest offshore...

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News

Farella Braun + Martel Earns 2024 Best Law Firms® Rankings

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Publication

BIPA Liability: Existing CGL Coverage May Provide a Lifeline for Policyholders

Developments in the law have increased the potential liability that companies could face under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), but fortunately for policyholders, Illinois case law has also solidified coverage for BIPA...

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Event

19th Annual Renewable Energy Law Institute

Dirk Mueller is speaking at the University of Texas School of Law 19 th Annual Renewable Energy Law Institute on "Mineral Issues Impact on Real Estate Documents, Siting and Planning: Texas vs. California." Session Overview :   Understanding...

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