About Christopher Der
Christopher Der Manuelian combines legal training and graduate business study in a practice rooted in California courtrooms. He holds a Juris Doctor and an MBA from Santa Clara University, both awarded in 1987, and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Point Loma Nazarene University in 1984. That blend of degrees frames the way he approaches cases: attentive to legal detail and mindful of broader business implications.
He completed his undergraduate studies in the early 1980s and continued at Santa Clara where he took parallel law and business programs. Earning both an MBA and a J.D. in the same year is uncommon. It gave him formal grounding in two disciplines and shaped the practical perspective he brought into practice after graduation.
Der Manuelian is admitted to the California State Bar and holds admission to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Those credentials allow him to operate in both state and federal forums. He is listed with the relevant bar authorities for those jurisdictions and is authorized to appear in matters that come before the appellate level in the Ninth Circuit.
Over the course of his career he has maintained a presence in several Central Valley communities. He works from offices in Stockton, Jackson and Modesto, serving clients whose matters arise in those regions and beyond. He manages filings, oral advocacy and courtroom appearances that proceed through California courts and, where appropriate, into federal appellate review.
Colleagues describe him as methodical in the preparation of filings and precise in court presentations. He draws on his dual graduate background when evaluating complex disputes that involve commercial or organizational questions. That education allows him to consider practical business consequences alongside legal strategy.
Outside formal filings he has handled procedural work that supports longer litigation tracks, including briefing and appellate practice. His admission to the Ninth Circuit means he can carry a file from trial-level proceedings into appellate argument when cases require it.
He continues to practice from his offices in Stockton, Jackson and Modesto, handling matters in California state courts and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
