McCormick, Christopher H.

Professional Biography of Christopher H. McCormick

I was admitted to the Connecticut Bar on December 12, 1985 and the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on February 10, 1986. I am one of two partners of Steier & McCormick, LLC a four- attorney firm with offices in West Hartford and Avon Connecticut. I am an attorney in good standing in Connecticut and the current emphasis of my practice is bankruptcy, foreclosure defense and workouts and real estate law.

During the first ten years the primary focus of my law practice was the representation of lenders for residential foreclosures, workouts, REO sales and bankruptcy. I shifted the primary emphasis of my practice in 1997 to real estate law and the representation of debtors focusing on consumer and small business bankruptcy. I currently file Chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcies for debtors located in Hartford, Tolland, Middlesex and New Haven counties.

During the past two years I have appeared on Fox News at 10 on Channel 61 providing commentary as a bankruptcy attorney on topics including the connection between sports gambling and personal bankruptcy and the abusive practices of some consumer credit counseling and debt management companies.

I received my undergraduate degree Cum Laude from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and my J.D. Degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law in Hartford, Connecticut. While attending law school, I was a law clerk for the Division of Special Revenue for the State of Connecticut and drafted regulations for the lottery and other legalized gambling operations in the State of Connecticut. I also worked as a law clerk for the law firm of Keith & Aparo located in Hartford, Connecticut that specialized in real estate law.

In 1985, I joined the law firm of Gross, Hyde & Williams, P.C. in Hartford, Connecticut as an associate. During my tenure at this firm, I worked in a variety of areas of law including personal injury and construction litigation, real estate, corporate and employment law and estate planning.

In 1986, I joined the firm of Reiner & Reiner as an associate and my practice initially focused on real estate, personal injury and collection law. When the real estate market soured in the late 1980s the main emphasis of my practice shifted to residential foreclosures and I started the residential foreclosure department at that firm.

In 1990, I left Reiner & Reiner to join the firm of Mayo, Gilligan & Zito, LLC and to continue with my practice in the areas of foreclosure and workouts, collections, real estate and creditor's rights in bankruptcy. While at Mayo Gilligan & Zito I also started to receive fiduciary appointments from the West Hartford Probate Court.

In May 1995 I joined with my current partner, Mark S. Steier, to form the law firm of Steier, Weaver & McCormick, which became Steier & McCormick, LLC in January 2003. Over the next two years I changed my creditors' rights foreclosure practice by choice to a practice focused on representing debtors in bankruptcy and foreclosure defense cases. Over the past eleven years I have developed a rewarding bankruptcy practice helping debtors achieve a fresh start from their financial problems. I also have been able to use my knowledge and experience as a former foreclosure attorney to be an effective advocate for my foreclosure defense clients. During this same period I have also built up a highly regarded residential real estate law practice.

I have been a past member of the American and Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, Commercial Law League of America and the Connecticut Mortgage Bankers Association. I am currently a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute, The Consumer Bankruptcy Roundtable and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. I am a member of the Hartford County, Connecticut and American Bar Associations. I am a member of the West Hartford Chamber of Commerce and a Director of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers CT, Inc., an organization devoted to impaired attorneys suffering from addiction, gambling and mental health problems.

I am listed on the Law Works for People- Pro Bono Honor Roll and the Pro Bono Panel of Attorneys for the West Hartford Probate Court. I have conducted seminars on several topics related to real estate, foreclosures and bankruptcy law.

I currently live in West Hartford with my wife and my son. I am an active tennis player and swimmer and a member of the Hartford Tennis Club and Cornerstone Aquatic Center. I volunteer as a coach for the West Hartford Youth Hockey Association and play ice hockey in men's leagues throughout the Hartford area.