Chris Valente is an experienced trial lawyer and international arbitration practitioner with a focus on representing companies in high-stakes commercial litigation and cross-border disputes. He regularly defends and advances claims for a broad range of clients, including financial institutions, aerospace and defense, construction and manufacturing companies, and emerging technology and biotechnology innovators. Clients turn to Chris when facing bet-the-company litigation, complex multi-jurisdictional disputes, and matters involving cutting-edge legal issues, such as artificial intelligence and the use of technology in commerce.
Chris has significant experience in US federal and state courts as well as in international arbitration seated in the US, Europe, and Asia. Chris leverages this experience to help clients align their dispute resolution strategies with their business goals, whether that means achieving favorable settlements, securing precedent-setting rulings, or making the case to a tribunal, judge, or jury.
Recognized by Chambers USA for General Commercial Litigation (Massachusetts, 2024–2026) and by The Legal 500 United States for Construction Litigation (2025-2026), Chris is also a thought leader at the intersection of dispute resolution and emerging legal technologies. From 2023-2026, Chris co-led the firm's Artificial Intelligence Solutions Group and frequently speaks on the opportunities and risks of generative AI.
- Recognized by Chambers USA for Litigation: General Commercial in Massachusetts, 2024-2026
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States as a Recommended Lawyer for Construction (Including Construction Litigation), 2025-2026
Chris has a passion for innovation. Chris continues to serve on the firm's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solutions Group, which he co-led from 2023 to 2026. In that role, and through his ongoing work, Chris helps advance the safe and responsible use and adoption of AI solutions both within the firm and for clients. He regularly speaks on the opportunities, challenges, and risks of AI and, in particular, generative AI. Chris is also certified in legal project management (LPM) and seeks to leverage LPM strategies, tools, and concepts to drive innovation and efficiency across his practice.
Chris is also committed to further diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. Chris is a member of the firmwide Opportunity and Inclusion Committee and of its LGBTQ+ Subcommittee. Chris also serves on the Boston Opportunity and Inclusion Committee. Chris is a 2022 Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow.
Chris is an active member of the Boston legal community. Chris is a member of the Boston Bar Association. He is a fellow of the Boston Bar Foundation (BBF) and has chaired and served on the steering committees of numerous fundraising efforts to advance the BBF's mission of helping thousands of individuals and families through pro bono programs, grants to legal services organizations. Chris is also active in the Boston International Arbitration Council.
On 1 July 2026, Chris began his two-year term as President of the Tufts University Alumni Association (TUAA). In that role, he will lead the Tufts Alumni Council, the governing body of the TUAA, in advancing the TUAA’s mission of engaging with Tufts Alumni. In recognition of his service to the TUAA, Chris was recognized with the Young Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 2013, the Alumni Chapter Leadership Award in 2016, and the Presidential Award in 2023 and 2025.
- Co-Speaker, AI in the Workplace, K&L Gates: People Power Hour, 12 February 2026
- Panelist, Jurisdiction Entanglements in International Arbitration, Perspectives and Lessons from Different Jurisdictions, 2025 Hong Kong Arbitration Week, Panel Discussion, K&L Gates & Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), 20 October 2025
- Co-Speaker, AI Powered Mortgages: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities, American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators Annual Conference, 6 August 2025
- Co-Speaker, AI Note-Taking Tools: Compliance Insights for Investment Advisers, Investment Adviser Association, 24 July 2025
- "USA: The VPPA - Navigating a legacy privacy regime in the digital age," DataGuidance, 17 September 2025
- “A practical guide for advisers considering the use of AI,” AIMA Journal - Edition 141, 24 March 2025
- “Technology in Arbitration,” LexisNexis, 2026
- “New US Patent and Trademark Office Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence Assisted Inventions Leave Many Questions Unanswered,” Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal, May 2024
- “Developers Are Testing Defenses In Generative AI Litigation,” Law360, 15 September 2023
- Parties, Chapter 24 of the treatise, entitled Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts, Thomson Reuters and the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, Fifth Edition, 2021
- Quoted, “Mandate to Modernize: A Deep Dive into Priorities for Litigators in 2024,” UnitedLex, 13 June 2024
- Quoted, Know Your (IP) Rights, GOLD The Business Magazine of Cyprus, 20 October, 2019
