Christopher BuckAttorney

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Christopher Buck

Christopher Buck

In a famous scene from the 1973 martial arts classic, Enter the Dragon, the character played by Bruce Lee is asked: “What’s your style?” Bruce Lee: “My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.”

Christopher Buck, Ph.D. (“Dr. Buck”), is known for his remarkable success in settling cases before trial, sparing his clients the time, expense, and stress of trial. He calls this, “The art of winning your case without going to trial.” Of the many cases he has handled in over 18 years of law practice (2007–2025), only two of Dr. Buck’s assigned cases have gone to trial—a testament to his skills in pre-trial resolution.

Dr. Buck is a “second-career” attorney, after his “first career” serving as university professor for over 10 years (1994–2004 and 2011). His last full-time teaching position was at Michigan State University (MSU) from 2000–2004. (See “Past Employment” below.) 

Dr. Buck earned his Ph.D. in the academic study of religion from the University of Toronto in 1996, and attended law school part-time beginning in 2002 (while teaching at MSU, until 2004). He earned his J.D. from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2006 and was sworn in by a special session of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2007. (See “Education” below.)

Outside the courtroom, Christopher is a prolific scholar and writer. His latest book is The Bahá’í Faith and the Black Intelligentsia: Race, Religion, and Nation (2025) — with an introduction by Richard W. Thomas, Professor Emeritus of History, Michigan State University — is available on Amazon. Dr. Buck has published multiple “peer-reviewed” academic works, legal briefs, and opinion pieces, and has over 247 legal publications archived on LexisNexis. (See “Select Published Works” and “Representative Attorney Work Products” below.) 

View his full CV here: https://psu-us.academia.edu/ChristopherBuck/CurriculumVitae

Representative Major Case Results (2021–2025)

Dr. Buck has recovered millions of dollars for his clients, as seen in  the following list of representative cases over the past several years. Dr. Buck succeeded in winning recovery for clients by settling each and every one of the following cases, without trial:

  • $500,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (August 4, 2025)
  • $1,000,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (May 13, 2025)
  • $375,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (April 23, 2025)
  • $100,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (October 25, 2024)
  • $250.000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (January 31, 2024)
  • $350,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (January 5, 2024)
  • $450,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (November 22, 2023)
  • $140,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (October 16, 2023)
  • $500,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (July 19, 2023)
  • $1,210,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (November 4, 2021 and January 6, 2023)
  • $250,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (May 10, 2022 and December 28, 2022)
  • $837,500.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (November 10, 2020 and December 9, 2022)
  • $350,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (July 14, 2021 and August 12, 2022)
  • $1,200,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (May 6, 2022)
  • $150,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (February 23, 2022)
  • $700,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (February 14, 2022)
  • $875,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (February 9, 2022)
  • $375,000.00, Medical Malpractice Victim (September 28, 2021)

All this is part of a “team effort” at Pribanic & Pribanic.

As an Associate Attorney, Dr. Buck works under the three lead attorneys at Pribanic & Pribanic (Victor Pribanic, Jeffrey Pribanic, and Ernest Pribanic). In his assigned cases, Dr. Buck is responsible for handling the pretrial stages of litigation (i.e. the “Pleadings” and “Discovery” phases). 

Recently, Dr. Buck has primarily focused on writing medical malpractice complaints for new cases, as part of Pribanic & Pribanic’s legal team.

Dr. Buck credits the legal team at Pribanic & Pribanic for assisting him in moving cases forward. He relies heavily on his paralegal, Gregory Dobson, to get things done. For instance, on November 10, 2025, Dr. Buck sent this brief email to his trusted paralegal: “Greg: Thanks for filing this Praecipe to S&D [Settle & Discontinue] with such celeritous dispatch.”

Another valuable team member is Lisa Wilson, Legal Assistant for Victor Pribanic. Lisa is highly skilled with correspondence, and keeps close track of deadlines as well as timely reminding attorneys of tasks that remain to be completed. Lisa’s efficiency and multitasking skills are remarkable.

Three Client Testimonials

  • First Client Testimonial

“Pribanic & Pribanic law firm handled my family’s wrongful death suit with respect, caring and professionalism: I chose Pribanic & Pribanic after my family was involved in a devastating motor vehicle accident.” 

“My husband tragically lost his life, while I was left burned and scarred. The accident was a result of a company’s product failure. I was scared, didn’t know where to turn, or how to start the process of litigation. I met with Jeffrey Pribanic who was very caring and honest about what I should expect. Jeffrey introduced me to Christopher Buck, Esq. Mr. Buck and the office staff kept me in constant contact. They were my guides to navigating the mountains of paperwork and medical records I had to provide for the case.”

“At the deposition, I met Victor Pribanic. He was astute, professional, and skilled as an attorney. He had a wealth of knowledge in the subject of wrongful death cases. I have an abounding respect for Victor. He protected me in the deposition, preventing the company’s representation from showing images (evidence) he knew I couldn’t handle.” He worked closely with Mr. Buck. Mr. Buck described the case as the “David and Goliath case.” We were up against a large company and had many obstacles along the way.”

“The law firm brought in a gentleman that was a witness to the accident. This man, Edgar Esquivel, lifted a transmission from my back and carried me to safety. Edgar also broke windows to free my sons and their friend from the crash. A few years after the accident, I was able to reunite with Edgar at his restaurant in Trenton, NJ. I presented him with a plaque fit for a “Hero.” Edgar’s testimony was pivotal to the settlement of this case.” 

“Saturday, May 4th, 2024, Edgar was at a Fair in his home country of Guatemala. Edgar was shot by an armed man at the festival and lost his life. He was a humanitarian, a family and godly man. He was a jovial man who loved his friends and family. I will never forget the advice he gave when we spoke on the phone or in person, “Live your life.” I will forever be grateful to the Pribanic & Pribanic law firm and Edgar Esquivel for giving me my life back and gave me strength and the means to live it fully!” 

— Brenda (Charcalla) Bisbee (May 7, 2024). 

(See also “Reviews” online, https://pribanic.com/testimonials/.)

  • Second Client Testimonial

“Pribanic & Pribanic was a superb law firm to handle my medical negligence case. My first call to the office was encouraging, as I was directed to Cheryl [Cheryl Penrod, RN, Esq.] to evaluate my situation. Chris [Christopher Buck, Ph.D., Esq.] was an amazing lawyer who was assigned to my case. I learned much about the legal procedures as Chris clearly explained each step of the process until the final negotiation. I greatly appreciated Chris’s communication skills as he treated me with respect and personal concern. Victor [Victor H. Pribanic, Esq.] brought all aspects of my case together as he negotiated an excellent settlement to bring closure to my situation. He is definitely gifted in his chosen field. It was a pleasure working with this exceptional law firm.” 

— Laurene Harshbarger, Pennsylvania (March 9, 2022).

  • Third Client Testimonial

“This letter is written on behalf of Dr. Christopher Buck, an attorney with the law firm of Pribanic & Pribanic, whom my husband and I had the privilege of working with during the years of 2008/09. Our litigation required an attorney with a deep research background and we found that Dr. Buck was the individual for the job. Over the course of the two years, our ongoing case benefited from Dr. Buck’s efficient, effective, diligent, and determined methods of providing background knowledge and research relevant to our case. He consistently met timelines and took time to explain our legal issues in such a way that we understood the events of the complicated situation. It appeared that he was never too busy to respond to our questions.” Based upon his deep knowledge base, his dedication to his clients, and his outstanding ability to “get the job done,” we would highly recommend his expertise to anyone in need.” 

— Susan E. Burns, Pennsylvania (July 12, 2010).

Notable Published Opinion (Case-Related)

Representative Attorney “Work Products”

Select Published Works

Areas of Practice

  • Medical Malpractice
  • Wrongful Death
  • Personal Injury
  • Automobile Defects (Crashworthiness)
  • Product Liability and Defective Products

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 2007
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 2007

Education

  • Thomas M. Cooley Law School, J.D., 2006
    • Dean’s List, Book Awards, and Best Legal Research Paper
  • University of Toronto, Ph.D. in the Study of Religion, 1996
    • Focus: Phenomenology of Religion and the Comparative Method
    • Dissertation Appraisal: “Mr. Buck’s thesis is a superior piece of work, one of the most sophisticated exercises on comparison that I have read […] Of the nearly one hundred dissertations I have served as director or reader for, in the fields of history of religions and early Christianities, this is, without question, one of the two or three best.” – Jonathan Z. Smith, Robert O. Anderson Distinguished Service Professor of the Humanities, University of Chicago (June 13, 1996).
    • Published Dissertation: Paradise and Paradigm, SUNY Press, 1999
  • University of Calgary, M.A. in Religion, 1991

Education

  • American Association for Justice
  • American Bar Association
  • American Inns of Court (formerly)

Past Employment

  • Pribanic & Pribanic (2007–Present)
  • Pennsylvania State University (2011)
  • Michigan State University (2000–2004)
  • Quincy University (2000–2001)
  • Millikin University (1997–1999)
  • Carleton University (1994–1996)