R. CHRISTION HUTSON

Hutson

Practice Areas

Mr. Hutson's practice is focused in workers' compensation law, representing the interests of employers throughout Kentucky. He also has significant experience in insurance defense (including automobile accident litigation), employment law and in the representation of employers in Kentucky Occupational and Safety citation proceedings.

Licenses

He was admitted to the Kentucky Bar in 1987 and is licensed to practice in all courts of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and before the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.

Experience

Mr. Hutson has extensive experience in defense of Kentucky employers in workers' compensation cases. He has practiced numerous cases, regularly appearing at Department of Workers' Claims hearing sites in Paducah, Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green, Owensboro and Madisonville. In addition to litigating cases before administrative law judges, Mr. Hutson has written numerous briefs to the Workers' Compensation Board, and has presented briefs and oral argument to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Kentucky.

Background

Chris was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1962. He joined Whitlow, Roberts, Houston and Russell (predecessor to WRHS) as an associate in August 1987, and became a member of the firm January 1, 1993. Mr. Hutson has practiced with the same firm his entire career.

Education

Mr. Hutson was graduated with honors from Murray State University in 1984. While at MSU he served as chairperson of the Student Judiciary Board and was recognized, in 1984, as Outstanding Political Science Major and as Outstanding Pre-Law Student.

Mr. Hutson received his Jurisprudence Doctorate from Vanderbilt University in 1987. He was an Associate Editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. Mr. Hutson's discussion of traditional labor law remedies was published in the Journal of Transnational Law in January 1987. Narrowly Interpreting Sure‑Tan to Provide Traditional Labor Law Remedies to Undocumented Aliens Continually Present in the United States.  Bevles Company, Inc. v. Teamsters Local 986, 791 F. 2d 1391 (9th Cir. 1986).

Associations and Service

Chris is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association and McCracken Bar Association. He served as President of the McCracken Bar Association in 2007-2008.

Mr. Hutson is a frequent speaker at seminars, including the Biennial Workers' Compensation Institute sponsored by the University of Kentucky. He is a director of CompEd, Inc., a non-profit organization which serves to facilitate understanding of Kentucky workers' compensation. Also, Mr. Hutson is a member of the Kentucky Defense Counsel and served as editor of the KDC Newsletter for several years in the early 1990s. Recently Mr. Hutson served on an advisory committee, at the invitation of the Commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims, to review and consider possible changes to practice and procedure of workers' compensation litigation.

Presently, Mr. Hutson serves as a Director on the following boards: Baptist Healthcare Systems, Inc; Western Baptist Hospital; and the Community Foundation of West Kentucky. Also, he is Vice-Chair of the Western Baptist Hospital Foundation Board. Mr. Hutson is past President of the United Way of Paducah-McCracken County and co-chaired the United Way Campaign in 1997-98. He served as President of the Paducah chapter of the American Red Cross from 1993 through 1996 and is a member of the Leadership Paducah Class of 1994.

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