Press Release

 

CHARLOTTE—Former Charlotte Motor Speedway General Counsel and Director of Community Relations Christopher H. (Chris) Kouri has joined Womble Carlyle’s Charlotte office.
 

At Womble Carlyle, Chris Kouri assists and counsels companies on economic development initiatives and provides clients with general corporate consultation on a wide range of matters.

Kouri assists both domestic and international companies looking to expand operations. His economic development practice includes negotiating public and private financing for projects, securing state and local economic incentives packages, navigating regulatory and permitting requirements, and selecting sites and acquiring real estate, especially in the Carolinas.

In providing corporate consultation, Kouri advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and entity formation, and complex contract matters. He has industry experience in motorsports, travel and tourism, telecommunications, web-based start-ups, grocery store chains, higher education and non-profits.

Kouri spent the past six years as General Counsel at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There, he oversaw all of the Speedway’s legal matters, working on general corporate matters, sponsorship and sanctioning agreements, media relationships, labor and employment matters, promotions and sweepstakes, and intellectual property and real estate issues. He also worked with government officials on matters of law enforcement, transit and transportation, and tax policy. Prior to joining the Speedway, Kouri spent five years as a general corporate attorney at Helms Mullis & Wicker, PLLC, in Charlotte, during which time he stepped away from his practice in 2002 to run for Congress in North Carolina's 8th District.

A Charlotte native, Kouri attended Charlotte Catholic High School where he played for the legendary football Coach Jim Oddo. He matriculated to Yale University where he played for Hall of Fame Coach Carm Cozza. Captain of the Yale football team in 1991, Chris earned the Gerald Ford Scholar-Athlete Award and was named First Team All-Ivy League as a running back following his senior season.

After graduating from Yale in 1992, Kouri tried unsuccessfully to make the Miami Dolphins as a free agent halfback, but in 1995 he led the Aix-En-Provence Argonauts to an undefeated season and the French National Championship, earning MVP honors in the championship game.

Kouri serves on numerous community and civic boards, including the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition, the Charlotte Regional Partnership, the Governor’s
Motorsports Advisory Council and the Governor’s Health Schools Cabinet.

Kouri earned a B.A. from Yale University, a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Duke University and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina.

 

Womble Carlyle is a full-service business law firm with a focus on innovative solutions to client needs. The firm supports the Association of Corporate Counsel in the ACC Value Challenge, which seeks to better align legal services with the needs of corporate clients.

The firm is located in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and serves clients nationally and globally, with more than 550 attorneys in twelve offices: Atlanta; Charleston and Greenville, S.C.; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Washington, D.C.; Tysons Corner, Va.; Baltimore; and Wilmington, Del.

In the community, the firm is the first law firm to receive the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award as well as the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award.