Email: chris@tuftlaw.com
Phone: (651) 259-1176
Fax: (651) 771-0850
Download: vCard
Christopher L. Vatsaas is a shareholder at Tuft, Lach, Jerabek & O’Connell, PLLC. Chris practices exclusively in the area 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 family law experience ranges from child custody cases involving child endangerment to dissolution matters involving high net worth individuals and sophisticated non-marital tracing. Chris frequently 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). He is also a trained child custody and parenting time evaluator and has served as a court appointed expert in that role.
Since 2019, Chris has been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers®. Only 2.5% of attorneys in Minnesota receive this distinction. Chris was also named to the 2023 list of Top Lawyer in Minnesota by Minnesota Monthly. In 2018 and 2019, Chris received the North Star Lawyer Award from the Minnesota State Bar Association for his pro bono service. Chris was also recognized as part of the 2026 Best Lawyers in America® edition.
Chris is an Adjunct Professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where he teaches Advanced Family Law. He also previously taught courses within the school’s Mentor Externship Program. He has 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 and has co-authored legal articles regarding the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the practice of family law as well as the impending evolution of child custody issues stemming from cannabis legalization.
Chris is engaged in both the local legal community and the greater Twin Cities community. He also has extensive board service experience, including presently serving as Past President of the Alumni Advisory Board at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and previously serving as President of the Family Law League, a local non-profit organization focused on professional development and networking among family law professionals. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Park Boys Traveling Basketball Association.
Chris and his family call St. Louis Park home, where he is involved in his local church and community. In his spare time, you’ll find Chris coaching or watching basketball, hosting a barbeque (ask about his chicken wings), foraging for fun espresso beans at a local coffee shop, or popping open a new bottle of wine with friends. An aspiring wine geek, Chris has obtained his Level 2 Certificate with Merit from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and dreams of a part-time retirement job of pouring at a local wine bar someday.
Current Employment Position:
- Shareholder/Attorney
- Rule 114 Qualified Neutral
- Mediator
- Early Neutral Evaluator
- Parenting Consultant
- Parenting Time Expeditor
- Custody Evaluator
Bar Admissions:
- Minnesota, 2011
- U.S. District Court (Minnesota), 2012
Education:
- University of St. Thomas School of Law, MN, J.D, 2011
- University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, MN, B.S.B. (Finance major, Political Science minor), 2008
Professional Associations and Memberships:
- Adjunct Professor, University of St. Thomas School of Law
- Member, Minnesota State Bar Association
- Member, Hennepin County Bar Association
- President-Elect, Alumni Advisory Board, University of St. Thomas School of Law (July 2023 – Present)
- Secretary, Alumni Advisory Board, University of St. Thomas School of Law (July 2022 – June 2023)
- Member, Alumni Advisory Board, University of St. Thomas School of Law (July 2020 – June 2022)
- Board President, Family Law League (November 2019 – December 2021)
- Board Member, Family Law League (March 2017 – December 2022)
- Member, Family Law League
- Member, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, MN Chapter
Honors and Awards:
- Named by Super Lawyers to the Minnesota list of Rising Star Attorneys every year since 2019
- Received the North Star Lawyer Award for pro bono service from the Minnesota State Bar Association in 2018 and 2019
- Named to the 2023 Top Lawyers in Minnesota list by Minnesota Monthly
- Listed in the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers in America®
Publications and CLE Instruction:
- Lecturer, “Preflight Checklist: Positioning Parties to Succeed After Our Involvement is Done,” AFCC 62nd Annual Conference (New Orleans), May 2025
- Lecturer, “Divorce A to Z: ADR and ECM in Minnesota – How to Optimize Outcomes Through Early Intervention,” Minnesota CLE, May 2025
- Lecturer, “Balancing Act: Marijuana’s Impact on Custody and Parenting Time,” Minnesota CLE, May 2024
- Co-author, “The cannabis-custody conundrum,” Bench & Bar of Minnesota, March 2024
- Lecturer, “ADR Options in Minnesota,” How to Succeed in Your First (or Next) Divorce Case, Minnesota CLE, July 2023
- Lecturer, “Divorce A to Z: ADR and EDM in Minnesota – How to Optimize Outcomes Through Early Intervention,” Minnesota CLE, April 2022
- Co-author, “Pandemic Family Stress Equals Pandemic Family Law Stress,” Bench & Bar of Minnesota, May/June 2020
- Lecturer, “Does Anyone Else See that Elephant in the Room? Establishing Sustainable Custody and Parenting Time Plans that Address the Issues that No One Wants to Talk About (Chemical Dependency and Mental Illness,” Family Law Institute, Minnesota CLE, March 2020
- Editor, “ADR Options in Minnesota,” Divorce Practice Deskbook, Minnesota CLE, 2019 – Present
- Lecturer, “Transform Your Family Law Practice Through Technology,” MSBA, 2017
- Lecturer, “Orders for Protection, Harassment Restraining Order, and Ex Parte Motion in Family Law Cases, 19th District Bar Association, 2016
Volunteer/Pro Bono Activities:
- Volunteer Attorney, Volunteer Lawyers Network (Spring 2018 – present)
- Mentor, University of St. Thomas School of Law
- Volunteer Coach, Youth Basketball and Youth Baseball
