Van Wagner & Wood - Wisconsin Drug Crimes Defense Attorney
  

successful criminal & drunk driving defense

 

1 North Pinckney Street
Suite 300
Madison, WI 53701-0088


Tele: (608) 284-1200
Toll-free: 1-866-262-4599

Regular Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
24-hour answering service & attorney page

 

 

 
 


attorney chris van wagner

Attorney Chris VanWagner

Attorney Christopher Van Wagner
Van Wagner & Wood, S.C.
1 North Pinckney Street, Suite 300
Madison, Wisconsin 53703

Phone: (608) 284-1200
Fax: (608) 284-1260
Email: Contact Me

Christopher T. Van Wagner grew up one of 11 children in a middle class Irish Catholic New Jersey family, obtained a top-notch education and training while attending an Ivy League law school (Cornell Law, 1981, Law Review Editor), and clerked for a federal district judge (Hon. Dick  Debevoise, D.N.J., 1981-82), and honed solid jury trial skills developing an ingrained courtroom sense while trying more than 50 felony jury trials to verdict as a state prosecutor (in Trenton, N. J.), cases ranging from welfare fraud to rape to homicide before observing and absorbing boardroom manners while working for Fortune 500 clients in his years at a world-renowned Chicago-based corporate law firm (Mayer Brown, on LaSalle Street.

Chris moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 1991 to become a federal prosecutor, and in a very short time, he tried several federal conspiracy cases to verdict. Chris left the government in 1994, and now devotes his professional time, effort and energy exclusively to defending people accused (or convicted) of serious crimes and drunk driving offenses. In that time, Chris has tried and won some high-profile trials, including several homicide cases.

The Dane County Defense Bar honored Chris as "Warrior of the Year" when Chris won an acquittal on behalf of a particularly difficult client (an ex-District Attorney) in an attempted murder shooting case. The Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (WACDL) has three times awarded Chris the Martin Hanson Advocate's Prize a statewide honor for his repeated victories in homicide cases. Chris has also taught and lectured regularly at state and national trial skills seminars for lawyers. He has served as guest commentator on Court TV with anchor Nancy Grace, who now also hosts the Larry King show. He has also been a guest criminal law commentator on the Dan Abrams Report on MSNBC and the Today Show. Finally, despite having resettled permanently to Wisconsin , he remains an equally permanent and often rabid New York Yankees fan.

Areas of Practice

Litigation Percentage

  • 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

  • Wisconsin, 1994
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit

Previous Bar Admissions

  • New Jersey, 1981
  • Illinois, 1989
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court District of New Jersey
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit

Education

  • Cornell Law School, Ithaca, New York, 1981
    J. D.

  • St. Lawrence, 1978
    B. A.
    Major: English and Literature

Classes/Seminars Taught

  • Teaching Faculty, Wisconsin Public Defender Trial Skills Academy (Lake Delavan, Wisconsin)
  • Teaching Faculty, NITA Trial Skills Programs (Northwestern Law School, Chicago)
  • Former Speaker, Wisconsin Criminal Defense and Other Bar Seminars

Honors and Awards

  • "Warrior of the Year," Dane County Criminal Defense Bar
  • Madison's Best Criminal Defense Lawyer
  • Super Lawyers, Wisconsin
  • Martin Hanson Advocate's Prize

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Dane County Bar Association
    Member

  • Wisconsin State Bar Association
    Member

  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

  • Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Wisconsin Circuit Courts

Attorney Christopher Van Wagner frequently represents people in the Wisconsin Circuit Courts located in Madison, Wisconsin (Dane County), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin (Columbia and Sauk Counties), Baraboo, Wisconsin (Sauk County), Eau Claire, Wisconsin (Eau Claire County), Richland Center (Richland County), Monroe, Wisconsin (Green County), Juneau, Wisconsin (Dodge County), Stevens Point, Wisconsin (Portage County), Janesville, Wisconsin (Rock County), Sparta, Wisconsin (Monroe County), Wausau, Wisconsin (Marathon County), Montello, Wisconsin (Marquette County), Mauston County (Juneau County), and La Crosse, Wisconsin (LaCrosse County).

Federal Courts

Attorney Chris Van Wagner is a federal defense attorney who is admitted to both eastern and western districts of the federal court system. He frequently represents people against drug crimes in both Federal (Madison, Wisconsin) and state courts.

Submit Your Case Now

1 North Pinckney Street, Suite 300
Madison, WI 53701-0088

Phone (608) 284-1200
Toll Free 1-866-262-4599
Fax (608) 284-1260

Regular Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The information at this site is not and is not intended to be legal advice or a legal opinion. Nothing at this site creates an attorney-client relationship. Please read our full disclaimer.

Van Wagner & Wood defends people against every type of criminal or drunk driving offense. For more information about Van Wagner & Wood and their criminal defense law practice, please visit Van Wagner & Wood.

 

  
   
           
  ^

The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation. The use of this website cannot create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2012 Van Wagner & Wood, S.C. All rights reserved. You may reproduce materials available at this site for your own personal use and for non-commercial distribution. All copies must include this copyright statement.