Crider, Curtis M

Christopher P. Phillips is currently engaged in the practice of general litigation, focusing primarily on the criminal defense of individuals and companies in all phases of government investigations, and also on personal injury of individuals.

Before he joined the firm, Chris served the public for fifteen years as an Assistant District Attorney for the City of Philadelphia. There, he tried hundreds of cases in both jury and bench trials for a wide variety of criminal offenses, ranging from narcotics cases to capital homicide. In 1999, he was selected to serve in the City’s elite Homicide Unit, where he continued his impressive record of successful verdicts. While in that Unit, he investigated and successfully prosecuted some of the most dangerous felons in our City.

Since Chris helped found the firm, he has practiced in both state and federal courts, in both criminal and civil matters. On the criminal side, he has won impressive verdicts in many high profile cases. For example Chris won an acquittal for a man charged with three counts on first degree murder. In another case, he convinced a jury to acquit a man charged with twenty-five counts of gun-point robbery. Chris has a unique understanding of how prosecutors prepare and present their cases.

Because of his experience as a prosecutor and his knowledge of the criminal justice system, Chris is able to counsel both individuals as well as corporations who are subject of government investigations. Should the government investigations result in criminal charges, he is an experienced trial lawyer, accustomed to handling cases involving the highest stakes.

After having graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1985, Chris received his law degree from the Villanova University School of Law. While at Villanova, he served two years on the Villanova Law Review, first as a staff member, then later as a member of its Board of Editors. After law school, he served as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Vincent Cirillo, then President Judge of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. He joined the District Attorneys Office in 1989. He joined with Tim Barton in 2004 to found Barton & Phillips.