“Chris Ward is very communicative; he reaches out with information before we request it. His work product is very detailed, very compliance focused and very thorough."
Client quote from Chambers USA
Chris provides counsel on matters of environmental and regulatory compliance, including permitting and reporting under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and a variety of state environmental laws and regulations. He also assists clients on regulatory compliance issues related to both hazardous and solid waste issues under RCRA and represents clients on permit appeals before the Environmental Review Appeals Commission as well as throughout enforcement proceedings, both administrative and judicial, regarding environmental statutes and regulations.
Chris also serves businesses throughout Ohio in the area of workplace safety, including workers’ compensation administration and legal defense. He appears regularly before the Ohio Industrial Commission, the BWC Adjudicating Committee and the Self-Insured Review Panel, while also representing clients in workers’ compensation appeals in courts of common pleas and appellate courts dealing with injury and occupational diseases as well as matters in mandamus.
Bringing his specialties together, Chris provides review and counsel to companies in business transactions with his due diligence analysis of potential environmental, OSHA and general workplace safety liabilities in sales and acquisitions.
Chris has been recognized by Chambers USA in 2025, Band 4 in Environment in Ohio. Clients interviewed by Chambers USA said, “Chris Ward is very communicative; he reaches out with information before we request it. His work product is very detailed, very compliance focused and very thorough. He's professional, knowledgeable and very responsive."
Chris is a member of the Ohio and Columbus Bar Associations, where he is an active member of the respective environmental law and workers’ compensation law committees. He is also active in the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Environment Committee and the Safety Committee, as well as in the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network, of which Calfee is the Ohio member firm. On January 1, 2015, Chris became an Ohio State Bar Association Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law.
Chris joined Calfee in 2003, and currently serves on the firm's Inclusion & Diversity Committee.
Ohio State Bar Association Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, 2015
J.D., The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, 2003
B.A., summa cum laude, University of Dayton, 2000
“Chris Ward is very communicative; he reaches out with information before we request it. His work product is very detailed, very compliance focused and very thorough."
Client quote from Chambers USA