Chris Giovinazzo represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex litigation and business disputes. He has extensive experience with litigation in the health care industry, intellectual property and environmental litigation, and employment and professional liability disputes. Chris currently serves as General Counsel to Bondurant Mixson & Elmore.

REPRESENTATIVE WORK

Health Care and Intellectual Property

Chris has represented plaintiffs and defendants in the health care industry in major intellectual property, contract, and False Claims Act disputes, including:

• Lead counsel from filing of complaint through four years of litigation in an enterprise software dispute. Federal Jury in NDGA awarded our client $11 million, the damages we sought to the dollar.

• Lead counsel in a high-dollar, expert-heavy domestic dispute. After an eight-day bench trial, the Dekalb County court ruled in our client’s favor, despite the adverse testimony of the court’s appointed/neutral expert.

• Lead counsel in a business fraud arbitration, resulting in a $5 million arbitration award to our client.

• Lead counsel in multiple multi-million dollar patent and intellectual property litigation matters.

• Represented international medical products developer in patent lawsuit, successfully protecting patents on a novel filtration device.

• Successfully defended plastics/medical products manufacturing company and senior executives against claims of trade secrets misappropriation and breach of confidentiality.

• Appellate counsel to nursing home operator in breach-of-contract case, successfully overturning $12 million judgment.

• Represented Fortune-50 health care provider in defense of major False Claims Act/whistleblower lawsuit.

Professional Liability

Chris has defended law firms and accounting firms in high-stakes professional liability litigation. Most recently, Chris defended a major Atlanta law firm in a malpractice action alleging damages over $100 million. Chris was responsible for the Daubert motion that led to the exclusion of the majority of plaintiff’s damages expert analysis, facilitating a favorable resolution of the dispute.

Environmental Law

Chris’s extensive environmental law background includes three years working for the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), a membership organization that provides environmental, energy and land use consulting to city and county governments. He also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Environmental Law Review. Litigation experience includes:

• Litigated before the Georgia Public Service Commission and the Georgia Supreme Court in support of citizens groups challenging Georgia Power Company’s process for selecting sites for electrical substations.
• Represented a class of approximately 2000 property owners in a nuisance and trespass action against an animal waste facility, a case involving the U.S. E.P.A., Georgia Department of Agriculture and Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Employment Law

Chris advises employees and employers in severance and intellectual property disputes, including in litigation of non-compete agreements, non-disclosure agreements, trade secrets and discrimination claims.

• Represented senior leader of a state university in wrongful termination case under Georgia’s Whistleblower Statute. Secured a settlement with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia providing our client with all relief available under the statute, including all lost wages plus all attorneys’ fees.
• Represented finance executive in successfully voiding non-compete terms in an employment agreement.
• Successfully defended against multi-million dollar claims for unpaid commissions by former sales rep of foreign exchange trading company.

Professional Activities

Adjunct Professor of Law at Emory, 2018-present

Honors and Awards

Georgia Super Lawyer, 2022 - 2024

Georgia Rising Star, 2010 - 2015