Prior to founding Adishian Law Group, P.C., Chris began his career as a tax professional in Arthur Andersen’s San Francisco office after law school. Seeking entrepreneurial challenges, he departed Arthur Andersen after two years and served as a financial consultant to Paymap.com’s senior management during its start up phase (formerly Aegis Mortgage Acceleration, later acquired by First Data). Following Paymap.com, Chris joined Montgomery Securities – then the nation’s leading investment bank for growth companies — as a Corporate Finance Associate on the hospitality/real estate team. At Montgomery, he gained “domain expertise” in the U.S. and Canadian hospitality/real estate markets, working on large scale public market financings and mergers and acquisitions for REITS, hotel owners and operators, management companies, timeshares, golf and cruise lines, as well as the technology and software companies serving the hospitality/real estate industries. Representative completed transactions include the sale of a 46 hotel portfolio and the initial public offering (IPO) and follow-on offering of Pegasus Systems (subsequently taken private in 2006).
Montgomery itself changed hands twice by late 1998 (first when acquired by NationsBank, and then when NationsBank acquired Bank of America). Montgomery became Bank of America’s investment banking arm. Rather than seek another corporate opportunity, Chris decided it was time to pursue his own entrepreneurial visions.
In 1999, he created what is today Adishian Capital with the launch of an Internet distribution company, added financial advisory services in 2002 and real estate brokerage / property management in 2007. In late 2003, he founded Adishian Law Group.
Significant Transactions And Litigated Matters
For examples of specific transactions and legal disputes that Chris has handled for clients, by practice area, please see our Case Studies. Chris also lends his unique talents to parties stuck in intractacble disputes by providing Mediation Services.
Education
Chris graduated with a degree in Mathematical Economics from U.C. Berkeley’s prestigious economics department, with a minor in Business Administration from Haas School of Business (the second oldest business school in the United States). While at Berkeley, Chris had two economic courses with Professor Laura D’Andrea Tyson, along with internships at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. Also as an undergraduate at Berkeley, he was fortunate to take a real estate course populated with MBAs and law students that was taught by Marvin Starr, co-author of the seminal treatise on California Real Estate Law, Miller & Starr California Real Estate.
At Loyola Law School, he was a Dean’s Scholarship Recipient, a member of the Phi Delta Phi Honor Society, served as an extern for a Federal District Court Judge (Central District California) and also served as an extern for a California Supreme Court Justice.
Judicial Externships
California Supreme Court, Hon. Armand Arabian (Ret.)
U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Hon. Dickran Tevrizian (Ret.)
Other
Licensed California Real Estate Broker (active)
Series 7 & 63 (both now expired)
Associations
He is a lifetime member of the California Alumni Association and a member of the Olympic Club. He is a past or current member of the San Francisco Bar Association, and the Los Angeles, Beverly Hils, Century City, Santa Monica and South Bay Bar Associations within Los Angeles. He has served as an Arbitrator on several attorney-client fee dispute cases.
Board Service
Roessler-Chadwick Foundation Board of Trustees, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA
Serve as Trustee on the governing body of Chadwick School and Chadwick International
St. John Armenian Church Foundation, San Francisco, CA (1998-2003)
Served as Trustee on the governing body responsible for directing the investment and use of the Foundation’s assets
Other
Chris has lived in California since 1978, with over 15 years in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. He came of age playing just about every and any sport that had a bat, ball, pole, stick, net, glove or racquet; starting with hockey, skiing and fishing when he was a young child. Today, he enjoys traveling, jeet kune do, yoga, basketball, softball, hiking, photography, backgammon and sharing time with his family and friends. He has been fortunate to have traveled extensively, throughout the United States and internationally, including Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Australia, Bali (Indonesia), Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland and Turkey. He has hiked to the top of Yosemite’s Half Dome, Oahu’s Diamond Head, Wayna Piccu (located in Peru’s Machu Picchu National Park) and has also hung out in a shark cage 3 miles off of Oahu’s North Shore while on vacation. Art gallery sized photographs from his travels decorate the walls of the El Segundo office.
He regularly donates his time and expertise to charitable and community organizations located throughout California, including Pro-Bono Matters.
