Chris Ross joined Catholic Law in August 2023 and is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Law. Passionate about the role of experiential learning in the law school curriculum, he teaches the Religious Liberty Clinic; serves as the Managing Director of Columbus Community Legal Services; and oversees Catholic Law’s externship program.

Chris co-teaches the Religious Liberty Clinic, which launched in the Spring of 2024. The clinic combines substantive study of religious liberty law with practical experience in appellate advocacy. Students in the clinic prepare amicus briefs filed in federal courts around the country, including in the United States Supreme Court. Chris has written about religious liberty for many years, and it was the primary focus of his pro bono practice before joining the Catholic Law faculty. He is also a Fellow with the law school’s Center for Religious Liberty.

As Managing Director of Columbus Community Legal Services, the law school's pro bono law firm and home of its clinical education programs, Chris supports the education and training of clinic students by managing clinic operations relating to client services, communications, and office management. As Director of Experiential Curriculum, he runs the externship program, which places up to 60 students per semester in placements across Washington, D.C., from Capitol Hill and federal agencies to law firms and nonprofit organizations. He teaches a seminar titled "Becoming a Lawyer" as part of the externship experience, which helps students reflect on the skills learned in their placements while also developing their professional identities and career goals.

In Fall 2025, Chris was appointed the Faculty Director of the Catholic Law-Jagiellonian University Joint American Law Programs, a 30-year partnership with Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. The joint programs include Catholic Law’s International & Business Trade Summer Law Program where Catholic Law students study in Poland with students from the EU; the American Law Program where Catholic Law faculty teach seminars in American law to students at Jagiellonian University; and an LL.M in American Law hosted at Catholic Law’s campus in Washington, D.C.

Before joining Catholic Law, Chris was a Senior Managing Associate at Sidley Austin LLP, where he practiced appellate and regulatory litigation at all levels of the federal court system. Before Sidley, he served as a Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Ohio and clerked for the Honorable Alice M. Batchelder on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude from the Fordham University School of Law. At Fordham, Chris was a member of the Appellate Litigation Clinic and served as the Executive Notes Editor of the Fordham Law Review. He holds an undergraduate degree from The King's College in New York City, and currently serves as Vice Chair of the college's Board of Trustees and as President of its Alumni Association.

Chris is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia, New York, and various U.S. district and circuit courts.