Chris L. Newbold is executive vice president of ALPS Corporation and ALPS Property & Casualty Insurance Company, positions he has held since 2007. As executive vice president, Chris oversees ALPS’ business development team, sales strategy, and is ALPS’ chief liaison into the bar association community, where ALPS is endorsed by more state bars than any other carrier regardless of size.
Externally within legal circles, Chris is recognized nationally based on his roles as a strategic planning facilitator to bar associations and bar foundations, his leadership work in the lawyer well-being movement, and his work advising states regulators and/or bar associations exploring the merits of implementing mandatory malpractice insurance requirements or stricter client disclosure rules.
On the strategic planning front, Chris’ lawyer credentials, knowledge of legal industry trends, and keen observations into bar association relevance catapulted him into being a desired facilitator in legal conversations nationally. Chris’ unique and innovative strategic planning approach has resulted in his leading retreats and legal conversations at the national, state, and local levels, including with State Bars in Maine, Vermont, Virginia, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations.
On the issue of lawyer well-being, Chris has been at the epicenter of discussion both strategically and as an advocate. As co-author of the movement launching 2016 report “The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change,” his leadership as co-chair of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, his participation on the ABA’s Working Group to Advance Well-Being in the Legal Profession, and his role as co-host of “The Path to Well-Being in Law” podcast, Chris has been at the forefront of a movement intent on creating a culture shift in the legal profession, and advancing personal and professional satisfaction in all sectors of legal life.
Chris has also been active nationally, counseling state bar associations and regulators on the viability of requiring lawyers to maintain malpractice insurance as a condition of licensure. Given Chris’ insurance industry knowledge, particularly within small firms and solo practitioners, his insights have been additive to the conversations in states like Nevada, Washington, California, and Idaho. Chris is also well versed in alternatives to mandatory insurance, like client disclosure rules.
Chris received his law degree from the University of Montana School of Law in 2001 and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1994). Following his graduation from law school, he served one year as a law clerk for the Honorable Terry N. Trieweiler of the Montana Supreme Court. After his clerkship, he launched his ALPS career as president and principal consultant of ALPS Foundation Services, a non-profit fundraising and philanthropic management consulting firm. In that capacity, he authored “The Complete Guide to Bar Foundations” in conjunction with the National Conference of Bar Foundations.
Outside of the law, Chris is currently chair of the board of directors of the University of Montana Alumni Association, has authored two children’s book about collegiate mascots (“The Big Bucky Badger Mystery” [Wisconsin] and “The Wild Wolf Pack Mystery” [Nevada}) and enjoys his Montana lifestyle with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children, Cameron, Mallory, and Lauren.
