Since opening the firm's Washington, DC office in 1990 and being admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1991, Chris has built a strong team of government relations professionals who represent clients in the maritime, energy, and defense industries; numerous institutions of higher learning; and several state and local government entities. He provides his clients with a broad range of government relations assistance, including providing advice on a wide variety of legislative and regulatory matters facing the maritime industry and other business interests.

Chris has developed strong relationships with the key committees on Capitol Hill with general jurisdiction over transportation and maritime issues, including the Senate Commerce Committee, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as tax writing committees with jurisdiction over maritime tax and trade matters, including the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Over the years, Chris has been deeply involved in numerous legislative matters affecting the maritime industry, including the Maritime Security Acts of 1996 and 2003, numerous Coast Guard Authorization Acts, the landmark tonnage tax legislation, the repeal of Subpart F shipping income provisions, the Jones Act, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the Water Resources Development Acts of 2007, 2014, 2016 and 2018 and legislation to implement numerous Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). In addition to his work on Capitol Hill, Chris has developed close ties with the principal federal agencies involved with the promotion and/or regulation of the US maritime industry: the Department of Transportation, the Maritime Administration (MarAd), the United States Coast Guard, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the US Department of Agriculture, the United States Trade Representative, and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Chris is the past president of the Propeller Club of Washington and currently serves as a member of the executive committee and the board of directors of the Coast Guard Foundation. He also served for many years as vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Maritime Congress, a research and educational organization dedicated to informing the public, the media, and legislators in Washington on the issues and policies affecting the US flag merchant marine and maritime industry. Additionally, he sits on the advisory board of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

In 2010, and again in 2017, he received the prestigious President's Award from the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) for his efforts to secure funding in Congress for legal representation of underserved communities in Louisiana.

Jim has extensive experience helping businesses and trade associations achieve their strategic objectives. Prior to joining Jones Walker, Jim was president and CEO of the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA), representing the owners and operators of US-flagged vessels that supply, support, and construct the subsea infrastructure necessary for offshore energy development. Under his leadership, the trade association confronted the challenges posed by the moratorium on drilling activity imposed following the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Before his tenure at OMSA, Jim was vice president of government affairs for American Commercial Lines, Inc. (ACL), where he advanced ACL's legislative and regulatory affairs programs to improve the nation's waterways transportation infrastructure. He also worked to implement positive changes on inland waterway tax policy and the US Coast Guard's regulation of the inland barge industry.

Jim also has experience in railroads and highway infrastructure development. As resident vice president for CSX Transportation, he represented CSX in government and community forums in Kentucky. In the public sector, Jim served in senior leadership positions in Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky's Department of Public Protection.

Jim began his career as a commissioned Coast Guard officer. At sea, he served as a deck watch officer and department head with responsibilities for vessel operations, navigation, and maritime law enforcement. Later he was named congressional fellow to the Coast Guard and Navigation Subcommittee in the House of Representatives. Following his Coast Guard service, Jim joined the subcommittee's professional staff, advancing legislation supporting the US Coast Guard and improving the safety and efficiency of regulatory programs affecting the offshore maritime industry, fishing industry, and inland barge industry.