Christopher Cotter is a trial lawyer focusing on transportation, product liability, construction and premises liability claims. In addition to his litigation practice, Chris counsels both insurers and policyholders in the interpretation of insurance coverage issues and in the litigation and resolution of insurance coverage disputes. Chris also advises businesses and contractors in complex contract negotiations, with extensive experience drafting construction contracts, vendor agreements, bylaws, CC&Rs, and other complex commercial contracts.
Chris is the current Chair of USLAW Network’s Complex Tort and Product Liability Practice Group. Chris is also a member of DRI, TIDA, the Santa Barbara County Bar Association, the Santa Barbara Barristers, the William L. Gordon Inn of Court, and the Santa Barbara UC Hastings Alumni Association, of which he is a founding member.
Chris is a Dual Qualified US/UK Attorney and Solicitor, licensed to practice law in the United States, England, and Wales. He has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star every year since 2019.
A Santa Barbara native, Chris attended Dos Pueblos High School before going on to receive his B.A from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, where he earned the National Second-Place Oral Advocate Award while competing at the Evan A. Evans Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition in Madison, Wisconsin.