Chris Brooker guides his clients through their most important disputes, helping them achieve their goals through efficient and effective advocacy.

Christopher Brooker is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who represents clients in complex, high‑stakes disputes across a wide range of industries. He regularly serves as lead counsel in matters pending in trial and appellate courts and is known for developing effective strategies in cases involving significant legal, financial, and reputational risk.

Chris’s practice spans commercial and contract disputes, fiduciary litigation, health care matters, constitutional law, gaming, and trademark enforcement, among others. He represents corporations, fiduciaries, public entities, and individuals in matters requiring sophisticated legal analysis and decisive courtroom advocacy. In addition to his trial work, Chris has extensive experience handling appeals, successfully defending trial victories, and obtaining reversals of adverse rulings.

Chris brings a practical, client‑focused approach to litigation, emphasizing clarity of strategy, disciplined execution, and results.

Education

J.D., with honors, University of North Carolina School of Law (2001)

• Staff of the North Carolina Law Review

B.A., magna cum laude, University of North Carolina at Asheville (1998)

Distinctions

• Listed, The Best Lawyers in America® – Commercial Litigation (2026)
• Listed, Super Lawyers®, part of Thomson Reuters® – Kentucky, Business Litigation
• Rising Star, Super Lawyers®, part of Thomson Reuters®– Kentucky, Business Litigation (2015–2016)
• Future Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation (2015–2019)
• Listed, Under 40 Hot List, Benchmark Litigation (2016)

Professional Activities

• Member, Louisville Bar Association
• Member, Kentucky Bar Association
• Associate Member, Louis D. Brandeis Inn of Court (2003–2005)
• Judicial clerkship for the Honorable John C. Martin of the North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Board Member, Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana Board of Directors (2014–present); Chair (2020–2022)
• Vice-Chair, Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission (2018–2020)
• Member, Board of Directors, Owensboro Symphony (2024–present)
• Graduate, Leadership Louisville (2017)
• Graduate, Leadership Kentucky (2013)
• Graduate, Ignite Louisville (2004)

• Represented a sitting Governor against criminal charges arising from allegedly politically motivated personnel actions. Prosecutors dismissed all charges against the Governor with prejudice.
• Lead counsel in several will contest and trust administration lawsuits involving multi-million dollar estates. Represents corporate fiduciaries, individuals, and charities in these cases at both the trial and appellate levels.
• Successfully defended numerous attorneys and law firms in legal malpractice actions.
• Prosecuted a trademark infringement case for a well-known Kentucky distillery concerning a competitor’s use of one of the distillery’s historic bourbon brands and the brand’s goodwill. The federal court granted the distillery’s motion for injunctive relief. Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. v. Log Still Distilling, LLC, 575 F. Supp. 3d 785 (W.D. Ky. 2021).
• Represented a horse racetrack in lawsuit filed against it by a casino company concerning premium ticketing and seating for premier horse racing events.  The trial court dismissed the casino’s claims against the racetrack and the appellate court affirmed.  Gulfside Casino Partnership v. Churchill Downs Incorporated, 861 Fed. Appx. 39 (6th Cir. 2021).
• Successfully defended a hospital against claims that it breached contractual restrictions when the hospital tried to sell real estate that it previously purchased from the plaintiff for over $11 million.  The trial court granted summary judgment to the hospital and the appellate court affirmed.  Old Henry Healthcare Real Estate, LLC v. Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s Healthcare, Inc., 2021 WL 4343468 (Ky. App. 2021).
• Prosecuted a lawsuit for a national outdoor advertising company seeking the transfer of valuable state outdoor advertising credits that were improperly obtained by a competing company.  The trial court ordered the transfer of the credits and the appellate court affirmed.  Outfront Media, LLC v. LeMaster, et al., 2021 WL 4314059 (6th Cir. 2021).
• Represented a horse racetrack in a lawsuit where a horsemen’s association challenged the racetrack’s ban on the use of certain race-day medication on two-year old horses.  The court granted summary judgment to the racetrack.  Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Assn. v. Keeneland Assn., Inc., et al., Franklin Cir. Ct. Case No. 20-CI-00396 (2020).
• Represented a national gas distribution company against claims that it breached its agreement to purchase all of a competitor’s assets.  Defeated all of the competitor’s claims at trial, and won every dollar sought from the competitor in a counterclaim.  The appellate court affirmed. ARC Welding Supply Co., Inc. v. American Welding & Gas, Inc., 924 F.3d 322 (7th Cir. 2019).
• Defended a public television station in case challenging its exclusion of a third-party candidate from the only joint appearance between candidates in a high profile U.S. Senate race.  The trial court denied the candidate’s motion for an injunction following a full evidentiary hearing, and then granted summary judgment to the television station.  The appellate court affirmed.  Libertarian Nat’l Committee, Inc. v. Holiday, 907 F.3d 941 (6th Cir. 2018).
• Defended a limestone quarry operator in lawsuits filed by the owners of the quarry premises claiming the operator’s long-term leases were unconscionable and invalid. The trial court granted summary judgment dismissing all of the plaintiffs’ claims and the appellate court affirmed. Lyles, et al. v. RDP Company, et al., 702 Fed. Appx. 385 (6th Cir. 2017).
• Represented state government and the Governor’s office in several cases arising under the state constitution, including major constitutional law cases with over $100 million at issue. Beshear v. Haydon Bridge Co., Inc., 416 S.W.3d 280 (Ky. 2013); Klein v. Beshear, 439 S.W.3d 107 (Ky. 2014).
• Lead counsel for a nationwide agricultural cooperative in the successful prosecution of a lawsuit seeking a judicial declaration that the cooperative, and not its landlord, owns dozens of valuable commercial greenhouses affixed to land. Alabama Farmers Cooperative, Inc. v. Jordan, 440 Fed. Appx. 463 (6th Cir. 2011).
• Prosecuted a case for a construction company establishing that whenever the state government is found to have breached a contract governed by the Model Procurement Code, the state government must pay interest on the resulting award. The construction company recovered more than $490,000 in interest as a result. University of Louisville v. RAM Engineering & Construction, Inc., 199 S.W.3d 746 (Ky. App. 2005).
• Defended the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association in a week-long jury trial where the Plaintiff recovered less than one percent of the over $2,000,000 in damages claimed. Successfully appealed the small award and the Plaintiff ultimately recovered nothing. Quadrille Business Systems, Inc. v. Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association, 242 S.W.3d 359 (Ky. App. 2007).
• Represented five salespeople whose former employer brought 26 claims against them when they went to work for a competitor. The trial court granted summary judgment to the five salespeople and the appellate court affirmed. ATCDG Distribution Group, Inc. v. Whatever It Takes Transmissions, et al., 402 F.3d 700 (6th Cir. 2005).

News

• Speaker, “Distilling the Complexities of Litigation Management: An In-House Perspective,” Wyatt’s In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2023)
• Speaker, “‘A Fresh Start for Kentucky,’ – Assisting the Governor with the Legal Aspects of His New Initiatives,” Wyatt’s In-House Counsel Litigation Seminar (November 2016)

Chris serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Junior Achievement of Kentuckiana, where he has served as Board Chair. Chris also serves on the Board of Directors of the Owensboro Symphony, and you will find Chris and his wife, Valerie, at every show. Chris and his son Luke are avid Cincinnati Reds fans and enjoy many summer afternoons at the Great American Ballpark.