Christian Ellis
Texas
Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones, LLP
420 Throckmorton Street
Suite 1000
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Tel: (817) 405-6904
Email:
christian@bondsellis.com
Web:
www.bondsellis.com
Within the construction arena, he represents owners, design professionals, general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in cases involving construction defects, design errors, delay claims, cost overruns, lien and bond claims, and bid disputes. He regularly drafts construction contracts for owners, contractors, and suppliers, and consults clients entering into construction contracts with upstream and downstream entities.
Mr. Ellis practices general business litigation, contract formation and negotiation, dispute resolution, and problem solving for a wide array of clients with complex legal challenges. Mr. Ellis’s legal experience is vast, covering multiple areas of law in a large variety of industries and specialties and ranging in value from tens of thousands to tens of millions of dollars. He has litigated everything from the stickiness of race car decals to the collapse of buildings. Among his general business specialties are cases involving breach of contract, fraud, theft of trade secrets, misappropriation of confidential information, and negligence.
Mr. Ellis’s oil and gas experience includes representation of clients in production disputes, construction claims, EPC contract claims, claims involving pipelines, and mineral liens.
He has represented manufacturers involved in products liability claims, intellectual property claims, and theft of trade secrets. Mr. Ellis also represents numerous non-profits in a wide variety of matters, including non-profit strategies, construction, leases, and other issues facing these clients.
Admissions & Certifications
- State Bar of Texas (1998)
- U.S. District Courts, Northern, Southern, Eastern & Western Districts of Texas
Education
- Baylor University School of Law (J.D., 1998)
- Lead Articles Editor, Baylor Law Review
- Texas Christian University (B.B.A., 1995), cum laude with Departmental Honors in Business Management
- Super Lawyers, Texas Monthly magazine (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023) (a Thomson Reuters service published in Texas Monthly)
- America’s Top 100 “Bet-the-Company” Litigators for the State of Texas, 2020, 2021, 2022
- Top Attorney, 360 West magazine (2018, 2019, 2022)
- Top Attorney, Fort Worth, Texas magazine (2008-2017, 2020-2022)
- Texas Rising Stars, Texas Monthly magazine (2012 – 2013) (a Thomson Reuters service published in Texas Monthly)
Our transactional team drafts and negotiates construction contracts, general conditions, special conditions, releases, joint check agreements, mechanic’s liens, lien releases, performance bonds, payments bonds, indemnity agreements, stop-work directives, contract termination documents, and subordination agreements for construction projects across a wide range of industries, from oil and gas facilities to school buildings, personal homes to office towers.
We believe that the people who are best suited to drafting construction contracts are those who have significant experience litigating those contracts. Our success in drafting construction documents stems from years of experience, not only in the drafting and negotiating process, but also in the litigation of construction claims. When our clients have construction-related disputes, our construction litigation team is ready for action.
Our construction litigation experience is extensive. We have successfully litigated, tried, and arbitrated cases involving construction defects, delay damages, payment claims, mechanic’s liens, performance bond claims, payment bond claims, bid disputes, pricing disputes, cost overruns, defective construction materials, defective products, and warranty claims.
We also specialize in insurance and indemnity claims in construction disputes. The mechanic’s liens statute in Texas (Texas Property Code Chapter 53) and the payment bond claim statute (Texas Government Code Chapter 2253) are unusually complex and difficult to navigate. The construction attorneys at Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones have a broad understanding of these statutes and have extensive experience in prosecuting and defending Texas mechanic’s liens and public payment bond claims.
Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones LLP is a committed to the pursuit of excellence—excellence in our legal work product, our relationships, and in our business practices. Mediocrity is not tolerated here. Our clients know this, which is why they continue to use Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones for the legal matters that are most important to them.
Our law firm is made up of former “big firm” attorneys who continue to work on complex legal matters across the state and nationwide, while cultivating personal client relationships within a smaller business platform.
Our areas of expertise include bankruptcy and reorganization, construction law, business litigation, appellate law, insurance law, oil and gas transactions and litigation, and corporate transactions. Located in the middle of downtown Fort Worth, the Firm is active across the State of Texas and the United States.
Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones is owned by five partners: John Bonds, Christian Ellis, Joshua Eppich, Roland Schafer, and Brandon Jones. The firm is pleased to include the Honorable Judge D. Michael Lynn as a bankruptcy expert, Joseph Spence as a civil litigation and appellate specialist, and Charles Curry as counsel to several banking institutions. Our associate attorneys are Patrick Sheridan and Paul Lopez, who concentrate on civil litigation and bankruptcy, respectively.