Christopher S. Cohilas
Christopher S. Cohilas
ccohilas@watsonspence.com
Practice Areas: Catastrophic Injury Litigation, Complex Commercial Litigation, White Collar Criminal Defense, Fiduciary Litigation, RICO
Paralegal: Ramona Madding
Phone: 229.317.5770
rmadding@watsonspence.com
Stated simply, Christopher Cohilas specializes in the complex. Christopher represents clients in high profile, high stakes, and complex criminal and civil litigation. He is the attorney that clients seek when it is time to “break glass in case of emergency”. As a former Chief Assistant District Attorney, County Commission Chairman, and one of Georgia Trend’s (2018) 100 Most Influential Georgians, he knows how to win a jury and manage the media. He is a consummate trial attorney with a persuasive, passionate, and trusted voice.
Christopher routinely represents persons charged with crimes in the State, Superior, and Federal Courts of Georgia. He is routinely sought out by executives, professionals, and public officials who find themselves being prosecuted and subjected to media scrutiny. Christopher focuses his civil practice on matters involving complex business litigation, RICO (racketeering), governmental transparency, breaches of fiduciary duty, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death. Christopher is known for creating custom solutions for unique and custom problems both inside and outside of the courtroom.
Prior to joining Watson Spence, Christopher served as the Chief Assistant District Attorney for Dougherty County. As the Chief Assistant District Attorney, he was responsible for the prosecution of felony crimes against children, violations of the Georgia RICO act, serious violent felonies, and cases involving extended or complex litigation. During his time in public service, he tried all manner of cases ranging from murder to public corruption.
Christopher is a consummate litigator with the experience to back it up. He has tried over 40 jury trials to verdict including both civil and criminal trials. Additionally, he has litigated and argued cases in the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Christopher is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to practice in all State and Superior Courts of Georgia as well as the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the United States District Courts of the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia, as well as the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Christopher S. Cohilas
ccohilas@watsonspence.com
Both before and during his time at Watson Spence, Christopher has demonstrated himself as a community minded leader with an influential voice that is routinely and reliably trusted by judges and elected officials across the State of Georgia and in Washington DC. In 2014 and 2018 Chris was elected twice in countywide elections to serve as the County Commission Chairman for Dougherty County. During his 8 year tenure as Chairman, Chris successfully led Dougherty County through four presidentially declared natural disasters and COVID-19 during times when his community was one of the leading hotspots for infection in the entire world.
In 2019, as a result of his work during the tornadoes of 2017 and Hurricane Michael of 2018, Christopher was awarded the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service. In 2022, Christopher was awarded the Emory Greene Leadership Award by ACCG (Association of County Commissioners of Georgia). The Emory Greene Leadership Award is the highest level of recognition a government official can receive from ACCG. Not surprisingly, in 2018, Georgia Trend Magazine named Christopher one of Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Georgians.
While serving as Commission Chairman, Christopher also served as the Chairman of the Albany-Dougherty Payroll Development Authority. In 2017, Christopher was appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to serve on the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council. In 2019, Christopher was elected as Chairman of the Council.
Christopher is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Georgia and was selected to serve as a program chair for the organization in 2009. He is the former president and chairperson of the Artesian City Sertoma Club. He is further known for his work as the former co-chairperson of the Martin Luther King Day Celebration Committee and as one of the founding members of the Lily Pad SANE Center. In January, 2013, Chris was awarded the Martin Luther King Day “Dream Award” for his community involvement. In 2007, he was named one of Southwest Georgia’s 40 under 40, and, in 2006, he was recognized by the State Bar of Georgia when was given the Young Lawyers Ethics and Professionalism Award.
Christopher graduated from the University of Georgia in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He went on to receive his J.D. from Georgia State Law School in 2002 where he was an avid member of the Student Trial Lawyers’ Association and the International Moot Court Team and winner of the “Best Advocate” scholarship in the William Daniel National Mock Trial Competition.
Christopher is a very involved hands-on father of four who enjoys working out, being outdoors, and cooking traditional Greek cuisine for family and friends.
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Education:
Georgia State Law School Juris Doctor University of Georgia Bachelor of Arts
Christopher S. Cohilas
ccohilas@watsonspence.com
Practice Areas: Catastrophic Injury Litigation, Complex Commercial Litigation, White Collar Criminal Defense, Fiduciary Litigation, RICO
Paralegal: Ramona Madding
Phone: 229.317.5770
rmadding@watsonspence.com
Christopher Cohilas specializes in the complex. Because of his experience and results, individuals and businesses routinely seek him to handle complex matters involving catastrophic injury/death, civil RICO, commercial, fiduciary, and fraud litigation. Christopher's catastrophic injury practice focuses on representing individuals and families who have been the victims of negligent acts resulting in wrongful death or serious injury.
Prior to Watson Spence, Christopher served as the Chief Assistant District Attorney for Dougherty County. He was responsible for the prosecution of felony crimes against children, RICO violations, serious violent felonies, and cases involving complex litigation. As a prosecutor, he tried cases ranging from murder to public corruption. Christopher brings a unique insider's perspective to his representation of businesses and individuals with civil or criminal claims or defenses arising from allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, racketeering, fraud, or embezzlement. Moreover, his experience in pursuing justice for crime victims has proven is invaluable to his catastrophic personal injury clients. Christopher knows how to build a case from the ground up and how to win at trial.
Christopher is a consummate litigator with the experience to back it up. He has tried over 40 jury trials to verdict, including both civil and criminal trials. Additionally, he has litigated cases in the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Christopher is a member of the State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to practice in all State and Superior Courts of Georgia as well as the Georgia Court of Appeals, the Georgia Supreme Court, the US District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Christopher has demonstrated himself as a community-minded leader with an influential voice routinely and reliably trusted by judges across the state and by elected officials locally, in Atlanta, and Washington, DC. In 2014 and 2018, Christopher was elected twice in countywide elections to serve as the County Commission Chairman for Dougherty County. During his 8-year tenure as Chairman, Christopher successfully led Dougherty County through 4 presidentially declared natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic when Albany and Dougherty County were plagued with the third highest infection rate in the world.
In 2019, Christopher was awarded the Justice Robert Benham Award for Community Service. He was awarded the Emory Greene Leadership Award by ACCG (Association of County Commissioners of Georgia) in 2022. The Emory Greene Leadership Award is the highest level of recognition a government official can receive from ACCG and reflects their achievements and impact during their time as an elected official.
In 2018, Georgia Trend Magazine named Christopher one of Georgia's 100 Most Influential Georgians. In addition to serving as the Chairman for the County Commission, he served as the Chairman of the Albany-Dougherty Payroll Development Authority (2015-2022). In 2017, Governor Nathan Deal appointed Christopher to serve on the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council (GPDSC). After being appointed to the Council, Christopher was elected to serve as the organization's chair in 2019 and continues to serve in that role.
Christopher is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Georgia and served as a program chair for the organization in 2009. He is the former president and chairperson of the Artesian City Sertoma Club. He is further known for his work as the former co-chairperson of the Martin Luther King Day Celebration Committee and as one of the founding members of the Lily Pad SANE Center (child abuse/rape crisis center). In January 2013, Christopher was awarded the Martin Luther King Day "Dream Award" for his community involvement. In 2007, he was named one of Southwest Georgia's 40 under 40, and in 2006 the State Bar of Georgia presented him with the Young Lawyers Ethics and Professionalism Award.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Georgia in 1999, Christopher received his JD from Georgia State Law School in 2002. In law school, he was an avid member of the Student Trial Lawyers' Association and was awarded the "Best Advocate" scholarship in the William Daniel National Mock Trial Competition. He participated on the International Moot Court Team and was named a "Top-Ten Oralist" at the 2002 Jessup International Moot Court Competition at Duke University.
As a very involved and hands-on father of four, Christopher enjoys spending time with, coaching baseball, and riding bicycles with his four children, Christopher, Jr., Nicholas, Michael, and Isabella. All enjoy frequent Sunday get-togethers with their father cooking large traditional Greek meals for gatherings of friends and family.
Christopher is a workout enthusiast and an avid member of Tony's 229 CrossFit. He enjoys cycling, mountain biking, and running. He most recently ran the 2022 Snickers Half-Marathon.
Education:
Georgia State Law School
Juris Doctor
University of Georgia
Bachelor of Arts