Judge Christopher D. Helms Joins the Review Commission

Judge Christopher D. Helms joins the Review Commission today as an Administrative Law Judge in its Denver Regional Office.  Prior to his appointment to the Review Commission, Judge Helms has served as an Administrative Law Judge with the U.S. Department of the Interior in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he presided over formal adversarial hearings regarding resource and wildlife protection laws, surface mining cases, grazing appeals and many other environmental issues.  Previously, he served as OSHA Counsel in the Atlanta Office of the Solicitor for Occupational Safety and Health with the U.S. Department of Labor where he led federal safety and health enforcement and litigation throughout the southeastern U. S.

 Prior to this, he served as a trial attorney with U.S. Department of Labor providing legal counsel in labor and employment matters, including matters involving wage-hour issues, (FLSA), the Mine Safety Health Act (MSHA), occupational safety and health (OSHA), employment benefits (ERISA) the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), whistleblower laws, internal labor relations and employment discrimination laws (EEOC cases).

He has also served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Georgia Attorney General’s Office in Atlanta, GA, where he represented state agencies as lead counsel in numerous complex civil cases concerning environmental and natural resource laws.  Additionally, he was lead counsel within the New Hampshire Department of Justice litigating environmental and natural resource cases.

Judge Helms received his Juris Doctorate and a Master of Studies in Environmental Law cum laude at the Vermont Law School in South Royalton, VT.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.