About Christopher Stender

As founding partner of San Diego, California, law firm Stender & Lappin, P.C., Christopher Stender dedicates his time to representing individuals, families, and employers with pending immigration-related proceedings. Before founding Stender & Lappin in 2008, he was in private practice in both California and Arizona, managing offices in Phoenix, Tucson, Eloy, and San Diego. From 1990 to 1993, Christopher Stender served as Assistant Chief Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, working out of the San Diego District office.

Christopher Stender graduated from the Syracuse University College of Law and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. Raised on the East Coast, he has family in Germany and spent his junior year of college studying at the University of Würzburg. In addition to speaking German, he is fluent in Spanish, which assists him in his legal practice. Christopher Stender has state bar memberships in New York, Arizona, and Connecticut, and is admitted to practice before the First, Eleventh, Ninth, and Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

Christopher Stender is committed to the improvement of immigration law practice and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Immigration Section of the State Bar of Arizona. He often speaks on immigration law topics. In 2007, he presented a lecture, “Representing Noncitizen Criminal Defendants” to the California Public Defenders Association. In that same year, Mr. Stender spoke on the topic, “Juveniles, Gangs, and Immigration” to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Christopher Stender stays active by playing racquetball and enjoys international travel. In addition to Germany, he has traveled to other European countries and spent time Central America and Mexico. He is an active member of Grace Point Church, where he volunteers with the children’s choir and serves as an usher.