Christopher D. Garcia

As part of his federal government contracts practice, Chris focuses on technology-related issues, including counseling clients in the areas of patents and data rights and defending against government challenges to technical data and computer software rights assertions. As part of his state and local practice, Chris assists clients pursue and negotiate opportunities across the country and helps protect their confidential information by advising contractors on the federal Freedom of Information Act as well as state-level public records laws. He has counseled contractors in numerous reverse-FOIA actions at the federal and state levels.

As part of his broader government contracts practice, Chris conducts internal investigations regarding False Claims Act issues and defends against related government inquiries and investigative demands. Chris also performs government contracts due diligence for buyers in transactional matters, representing government contractors in a range of industries. 

From 2019 to 2020, Chris, through a secondment, served as corporate counsel to a major cloud computing company, supporting the company's public sector team and negotiated cloud services agreements and related professional services engagements with federal, state, local, nonprofit, education, and international public sector customers. From 2021 to 2022, Chris served as corporate counsel through a secondment to a major online marketplace provider and helped support the company’s public sector team by negotiating technology-related agreements with state and local customers.

Chris maintains an active pro bono practice and regularly works on matters involving racial discrimination and immigration issues. Most recently, Chris provided on the ground pro bono legal representation to detained immigrants at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA, and helped a minor successfully obtain Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

During law school, Chris was a Sayre Macneil Scholar, a member of the Dean’s List, and elected to serve on the executive board for the St. Thomas More Law Honor Society. While in law school, Chris worked as an extern for the Honorable Kim M. Wardlaw on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for the Honorable Peter C. Lewis in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. He also volunteered as a mentor for Loyola’s Young Lawyers program.