Chris Vatsaas is a partner with Chestnut Cambronne and leads the firm’s Family Law Practice Group. His practice spans all areas of family law including divorce, child custody, paternity, asset and debt division, spousal maintenance, child support, domestic abuse (including Orders for Protection), and Harassment Restraining Orders. His diverse experience includes a broad array of family law issues ranging from child custody cases involving child endangerment to dissolution matters involving high net worth individuals and sophisticated non-marital tracing. He also serves in a neutral capacity as a family law mediator, parenting consultant (PC), parenting time expeditor (PTE), Social Early Neutral Evaluator (SENE), and Financial Early Neutral Evaluator (FENE). Beyond family law, Chris also has prior experience in assisting individuals in preparing their estate plans.
Chris is an Adjunct Professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where he teaches Advanced Family Law as well as coursework within the school’s Mentor Externship Program. He has also presented on topics such as Orders for Protection, Harassment Restraining Orders, Ex Parte Emergency Custody Orders, estate planning, and the use of technology within a family law practice. He is also the editor of the ADR Chapter of the Minnesota Divorce Practice Deskbook by Minnesota CLE.
Chris is engaged in both the local legal community and the greater Twin Cities community. He has been named a Rising Star attorney by SuperLawyers every year since 2019 and received the North Star Lawyer award in 2018 from the Minnesota State Bar Association for his pro bono service, which includes extensive volunteering with the Volunteer Lawyers Network. Chris also has extensive board service experience, including presently serving as Secretary of the Alumni Advisory Board at the University of St. Thomas School of Law as well as Past President of the Family Law League, a local non-profit organization focused on professional development and networking among family law professionals.
In his spare time, Chris enjoys spending as much time as possible with his family, hosting barbeques (ask about his chicken wings), and foraging for fun types of espresso beans at small, local coffee shops. He is a self-described basketball fanatic and a diehard Minnesota Gopher fan.
