About Christopher Van Wagner

Attorney Christopher T. Van Wagner is one of the most experienced and accomplished criminal defense attorneys in Wisconsin. Chris has practiced law for 35 years and has focused entirely on criminal defense for the past 25 years. Christopher Van Wagner provides assertive and intelligent legal representation for people who face a wide range of criminal charges, from operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) to assault, sexual assault and homicide. Many of these cases pose difficult challenges because of the nature of the crimes and the negative public reaction to them.

Chris grew up in a middle-class Irish Catholic family of 11 children in the working-class world of Trenton, New Jersey. He put himself through St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, earning honors in English Literature. Chris earned his law degree at Cornell University Law School, where he was named an editor of the Law Review, a high academic honor reserved for the top 10 percent of Cornell law students. Upon graduating from law school, Chris then worked as a clerk for the Hon. Dick Debevoise in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey.

After an uninspiring year in a large New Jersey law firm, Chris then worked as a prosecutor in Trenton, New Jersey. Chris tried more than 50 felony cases to final jury verdict. After a brief stint at a downtown Chicago law firm (Mayer Brown on LaSalle Street), he returned to his first love – criminal law – as a federal prosecutor in Madison.
In 1994, Christopher T. Van Wagner returned to private practice and committed himself to defending everyday people who face criminal charges in both state and federal courts. Chris also aggressively defends people who face charges of drunk driving, including repeat OWI/DWI offenses, OWI accidents with injuries and OWI accidents that resulted in a fatality. Through all of this, Chris has earned a stellar reputation across the “left side” of the state of Wisconsin as a trial lawyer who fights for his clients. Prosecutors know – or soon learn – that Christopher T. Van Wagner does not fold his cards merely because they claim to have a strong case.