Chris W. Altenbernd is a Shareholder at Banker Lopez Gassler P.A. He joined the firm after serving more than 27 years as an appellate judge on Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal. He served terms as the court’s chief judge and as the president of the Conference of District Court of Appeal Judges.
Having written nearly 1400 judicial opinions on a wide array of legal issues, he now handles a broad of civil appeals, including complex torts, commercial and construction claims, insurance coverage issues, and real estate. He assists outside counsel with brief writing, analysis of complex legal issues and conducts moot courts prior to actual oral arguments.
He served as a member and chair of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases. He served as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Contract Jury Instructions in Civil Cases. He is a current member of the Florida Supreme Court Committee on Criminal Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases. For more than two decades, he taught jurisdiction and standards of review at the Florida Judicial College for New Appellate Judges. He is available to assist counsel with the preparation of jury instructions, verdict forms, and to advise on jurisdictional issues.
Representative Experience
•Banker Lopez Gassler P.A., Tampa, FL
Shareholder, December 2017 to Present
•Carlton Fields, Tampa, FL
Shareholder, 2016 to December 2017
•District Court of Appeal, Second District, Tampa, FL
Judge, 1989 to 2016
•Fowler White Gillen Boggs Villareal & Banker P.A., Tampa, FL
Partner, 1979 to 1989
Associate, 1975 to 1979
Presentations and Publications
Publications
•“Legalizing the Appellate Introduction,” The Florida Bar Journal, Volume 90, No. 8, p. 60 (Sept/Oct 2016)
•Co-Author, “Certiorari Review of Nonfinal Orders: Does One Size Really Fit All? Part I,” The Florida Bar, Vol. LXXXVI, No. 2, p. 21 (February 2012)
•“Quasi-marital Children: The Common Law’s Failure in Privette and Daniel Calls for Statutory Reform,” Florida State University Law Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 219 (Winter 1999)
•“Briefly State: The True Confessions of a Legal Grease Monkey,” The Record, Journal of Appellate Practice & Advocacy Section, The Florida Bar, Vol. III, No. 1, p. 9 (April 1995)
Community Involvement
•Community Involvement
•Conn Memorial Foundation, Trustee (1998-2011)
•Florida Bay Area Chapter of the March of Dimes (1976-1988), Member, Executive Committee, and former Chair
Distinctions
•The Best Lawyers in America, 2019-2025
• Best Lawyers, Lawyer of the Year 2021, Appellate Practice, Tampa
• Sherman Christensen Award, American Inns of Court (2010)
• James C. Adkins Award, Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section of The Florida Bar (2002)
• Jurist of the Year, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Florida Chapter (1999)
•Jurist of the Year, Florida Board of Trial Advocates (1998)
