Chris Reid is a valued strategic partner to emerging companies and the institutions and individuals that invest in them. He serves as primary counsel to entrepreneurs and venture capital funds, including extensive work in the technology and life sciences sectors.
Chris provides reliable guidance at each stage of investment, and has led financings ranging from small seed equity rounds to equity financings in excess of $50 million.
Drawing on his significant corporate and securities experience, Chris works closely with entrepreneurs to come up with practical solutions to their key legal problems: structuring financing rounds, hiring, incentivizing and managing employees, building strong relationships with directors, customers, vendors and other key stakeholders, and negotiating exit transactions. He also frequently counsels executives on issues outside the legal realm, on such issues as financing strategies, supplier and customer management, and stockholder relationships. As one client remarked to the St. Louis Business Journal, “Chris operates like an entrepreneur. He’s creative, sharp and responsive.”
In his investor-side work, Chris represents institutional and angel investors looking to invest in companies across the country. He has advised investors on a wide variety of financings, from traditional preferred equity financing rounds to convertible note financings and SAFEs, and everything in between.
Having worked through a number of business cycles, particularly in the start-up and venture world, Chris has experience guiding clients through all types of fundraising environments. He looks for win-win solutions and leads transactions in a calm, constructive manner that reduces friction and results in highly efficient deals that get done.
Professional
- American Bar Association
- The Missouri Bar
- The Illinois Bar
- The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Community
- FamilyForward, Governance Board President
- Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition, Board of Directors, 2001-2007
- Catholic Charities Refugee Services, Mentor, Refugee Employment Mentoring Program
- USA Junior Olympic Volleyball, CAP II Accredited Volleyball Coach
- Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®, 2011-2025 (by BL Rankings)
- Selected for inclusion in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2010-2017 (by Thomson Reuters)
- Named Lawyer of the Year for Venture Capital Law in St. Louis by “Best Lawyers®”, 2014, 2022 (by BL Rankings)
For the past 20+ years, I have been heavily involved in coaching club volleyball at the high school level. My teams have consistently ranked among the top three in the region and have had national success, including a national championship in 2022. I have had over 90 players go on to play college volleyball on scholarship.