I enjoy helping clients navigate the complex and nuanced interactions between federal, state, local, and tribal law to build healthy, equitable, thriving communities.
Christian’s practice includes a focus on assisting public entities in navigating the regulatory, property, and contractual issues necessary to develop and operate public transportation and public infrastructure projects, particularly the passenger rail systems and rail-related infrastructure. He has significant administrative law experience representing state and local governments before various federal boards and administrations, including the Surface Transportation Board, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, and various state regulatory bodies, as well as litigation experience before federal courts and quasi-judicial regulatory entities. His experience in transportation infrastructure and operations also extends to tenancy and concessionaire issues, labor, civil rights, and funding issues. He has worked on both transit-oriented development and rails-to-trails projects.
Christian has experience with legal issues involving regulating the environment, energy, and land use. His work includes advising clients on federal environmental regulatory processes for public projects, as well as use of public lands. His background also includes working on state and federal energy regulation and policy issues. Christian holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning and a graduate certificate in renewable and sustainable energy studies.
The unique relationship between tribal law and tribal sovereignty and federal and state law poses special opportunities and challenges for tribes, tribal members, and tribal businesses. Christian has experience assisting tribal governments regarding issues of tribal sovereignty and governance, and the implications on projects and people in Indian Country. In law school, he assisted in researching climate change mitigation and adaptation on tribal lands and helped initiate a social-entrepreneurial effort to support small-scale renewable energy accessibility on the Navajo Nation. Christian is a proud member of the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of Northern California.
