Christopher S. Gontarz, Esq. of Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH — Christopher S. Gontarz, Esq., a resident of Portsmouth, is now president-elect of the Rhode Island Bar Association. 

His term runs from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. 

Gontarz is of counsel at Lynch & Pine, Providence and Newport, concentrating on criminal defense, ethics, and professional misconduct. 

He is a former special assistant attorney general in the Rhode Island Department of Attorney General. He serves on the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel and was previously a commissioner on the Rhode Island Supreme Court Judicial Tenure and Discipline Commission. 

He is the 2008 recipient of the Dorothy Lohmann Community Service Award and the 2017 Joseph T. Houlihan Lifetime Mentor Award. He was chairperson of the Criminal Law Bench Bar Committee and president of the Newport County Bar Association from 1993 to 2007. 

Gontarz has represented the Bar Association on numerous legislative committees involving criminal law. He was elected to the American Law Institute (ALI) in 2017. He is the author of “Sentencing in Superior Court, Guide to Superior Court Practice in Rhode Island,” published by MCLE, New England. He graduated from Salve Regina University, American University, and New England School of Law.

Founded in 1898, the Rhode Island Bar Association is a non-profit organization counting all those licensed to practice law in Rhode Island as its members. Currently the membership totals over 6,500 individuals.