CHRISTOPHER P. YATES

Christopher (Chris) P. Yates is a senior trial attorney at Ven Johnson Law's Kalamazoo office, where he focuses on complex civil litigation and appellate matters in Michigan and across the country.

Chris brings nearly four decades of legal experience to the firm, including service at nearly every level of the justice system. Most recently, he served on the Michigan Court of Appeals from 2022 to 2026 and was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to the Michigan Court of Claims, where he presided over significant cases involving state government agencies and officials.

Prior to joining the Court of Appeals, Chris served for 14 years on the Kent County Circuit Court bench. He was one of Michigan’s first business court judges and helped shape the state’s specialized business court system, authoring hundreds of written opinions involving complex commercial disputes. Throughout his judicial career, he presided over civil, criminal, family, business and governmental litigation.

Before taking the bench, he served as Chief Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Michigan, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, and Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He also practiced in private law firms as a litigation partner. Chris began his legal career by serving as a law clerk to Chief Judge James Churchill of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and then to Judge Ralph Guy of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

A respected leader in the legal profession, Chris has served as president of the Michigan Judges Association, president of the Grand Rapids Bar Association, president of the American College of Business Court Judges, and chair of the State Bar of Michigan Business Law Section. He currently serves as chair of the Michigan Sentencing Commission.

Chris earned his Bachelor of Arts from Kalamazoo College and both his Master of Business Administration, as valedictorian, and Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Illinois.