Overview

Chris Mills was a partner in the firm's New Jersey office. For almost 40 years, he assisted clients in navigating through the maze of labor and employment laws.

Chris was a Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Washington and Lee, where he was captain of the debate team. He had a J.D. degree from Yale and an L.L.M. from Georgetown.

After serving in the Navy JAG during the War in Vietnam, Chris practiced law for a number of years as in-house labor and employment counsel for AT&T at its corporate headquarters. Leaving for private practice in 1989, Chris helped form, then headed, Collier, Jacob & Mills, a premiere boutique employment law firm in New Jersey, which merged with Fisher Phillips in 2005. Chris was a partner in the combined firm for more than a dozen years, 2005-2017.

Over his career, Chris served as chief collective bargaining negotiator for a number of employers. Chris was elected a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers – the highest recognition by an attorney’s colleagues of sustained outstanding performance in the profession, exemplifying integrity, dedication and excellence. He was a Founding Member of the Academy of New Jersey Management Attorneys and elected to the Board of Directors of the Equal Employment Advisory Council. He spoke frequently at human resources and continuing legal education seminars, and authored numerous professional articles.

Chris will be remembered as a consummate professional and a “lawyer’s lawyer.” He had a quick wit and a sharp pen, whether writing a brief to the Supreme Court or an article on the latest developments in labor and employment law. Chris’s passing is a loss to the legal community, the firm, his family and friends. He will be missed and remembered fondly.

Experience

Reported Cases

Engers v. AT&T Corp. & AT&T Management Pension Plan, 428 F. Supp. 2d 213 (D.N.J. 2006)
Hunter v. Sprint Corp., 346 F. Supp. 2d 113 (D.D.C. 2004)
Zubi v. AT&T Corp., 219 3d 220 (3d Cir. 2000)
Samaroo v. Samaroo, 193 F.3d 185 (3d Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1062 (2000)
Sundor Brands Inc. v. NLRB, 168 F.3d 515 (D.C. Cir. 1999), on remand, 334 NLRB 755 (2001), enforcement denied, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 22482 (D.C. Cir. 2002)
McDermott v. Chilton Co., 938 F. Supp. 240 (D.N.J. 1995)
Chaffee v. Kraft General Foods, Inc., 886 F. Supp. 1164 (D.N.J. 1995)
Stires v. Sprint Corp., 1995 WL 632077 (D.N.J. 1995)
Bergfeld v. Muralo Co., Inc. 1993 WL 266799 (D.N.J. 1993)
Ponzoni v. Kraft General Foods, Inc., 774 F. Supp. 299 (D.N.J. 1991), affd, 958 F.2d 14 (3d Cir. 1992)

Representative Work

Summary Judgment Obtained Against Challenge to Conversion of Defined Benefit Pension Plan to Cash Balance Formula; 3rd Circuit Affirms

Honors & Leadership

Honors & Awards

"AV" Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
Recognized in Who's Who Legal USA
Listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers since 2005
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2007
Listed in Chambers USA in 2015
Best Lawyers in America, "Lawyer of the Year" - Management-side Employment Law, 2013

Award Methodology

Professional Activities

Chris spoke frequently at human resources training conferences and continuing legal education seminars for attorneys throughout the country, such as the ALI-ABA program "Employment Discrimination and Civil Rights Actions in Federal and State Courts," and the mid-year meeting of the American Bar Association's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity Law. He authored numerous professional articles. While an in-house counsel, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Equal Employment Advisory Council, a national employers' association. Chris also served as a Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps in Navy from 1972-1976.