Christopher W. Rust

Christopher Rust joined The West Firm in 2022 as an Associate Attorney. Mr. Rust has extensive experience in, and joined the firm primarily as, a Litigation Attorney. In his years of litigating in New York State and Federal Courts, he has represented both Plaintiffs and Defendants in many diverse areas such as premises liability, construction and other contract disputes, personal injury and motor vehicle accidents, petroleum spill and other environmental litigation, and equine law.

He is experienced in all aspects of litigation from pre-trial, motion, trial and appellate practice in Court and administrative proceedings. Chris has represented a broad and eclectic range of clients including auto dealerships, construction companies, elevator maintenance and installation companies, horse breeding and boarding farms, winter ski resorts, amusement parks. He has also represented individuals and recovered over $7 million over the past decade for injured plaintiffs and their families in motor vehicle accident and other personal injury matters, as well as successfully defended and earned dismissals of cases on motion involving elevator, motor vehicle and premises liability accidents.

Chris began his practice with small insurance defense law firms in The Bronx and White Plains in personal injury, premises liability, construction and New York Labor Law matters involving elevator and construction companies and motor vehicle accidents and has appeared in all Courts in the five boroughs of New York City and surrounding suburbs.

Relocating with his family to the Capital Region in 2013, he has litigated both plaintiffs' and defense matters in personal injury and motor vehicle actions, equine law litigation involving horse farms, stallion breeders' operations and the New York Gaming Commission, environmental and administrative matters involving auto dealerships and repair shops, in debt collection, real estate transactions, and many other areas of litigation and transactional law.

Mr. Rust received his Juris Doctor degree, Cum Laude, from Pace University School of Law in White Plains, New York in 2008 where he served on the Student Bar Association and President of the law school's Federalist Society chapter. He received his undergraduate degree from San Jose State University in his hometown of San Jose, California in 1995.

He is currently the Vice Chair of the Town of Niskayuna Board of Ethics and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Niskayuna Consumers' Cooperative market in his current hometown, Niskayuna, New York. He also volunteers with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany's Residents Encounter Christ Prison Ministry Program and serves as a Cantor for and in the Chorus of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady, New York.