Attorney Profile

Steven L. Russell

Steve Russell practiced with large law firms for over twenty years before starting his own firm in 2008. The Texas business disputes lawyer has a general litigation practice, with focuses on commercial and business litigation, transportation industry litigation, toxic tort and environmental litigation, and products liability litigation. As a former federal district court law clerk, Mr. Russell is well versed in federal court procedure and spends considerable time on federal court cases.

Mr. Russell’s business litigation experience includes contract disputes, construction defect cases, and franchise-related disputes. Before attending law school, Mr. Russell was a licensed pharmacist and practiced pharmacy in hospital settings. He has continued to use his pharmacy training in his law practice, frequently deposing physicians and other health professionals in personal injury cases. Mr. Russell was also a Certified Fraud Examiner, having met the qualifications of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and passed the CFE examination.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Russell is active in the legal community, having represented clients through the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program and served on various Dallas Bar Association committees. He served nine years as a trustee of the Dallas Bar Foundation until he termed out in 2022. In addition to speaking at continuing legal education seminars, Mr. Russell lectures on law, ethics, and public health issues at the University of Texas School of Public Health, where he is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. He is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society whose membership is limited to 3,500 Fellows, representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers.

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bar admissions

  • State Bar Admissions
    • Texas, Tennessee, and Colorado
  • Federal Court Admissions
    • Northern District of Texas
    • Eastern District of Texas
    • Southern District of Texas
    • Western District of Texas
    • Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
    • Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Education

  • J.D., University of Memphis School of Law, 1985
  • M.P.H., University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2010
  • B.S. Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 1981

Professional and Civic Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Dallas Bar Association
  • Dallas Bar Foundation, Member, Board of Trustees
  • Dallas Bar Foundation, Life Benefactor Fellow
  • Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow
  • American Bar Foundation, Life Fellow
  • Trial Law Institute, Member
  • Diversity Law Institute, Member

honors

  • AV® Preeminent™ rated by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
  • Texas Super Lawyer, 2007 – 2023 by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters service

CERTIFICATIONS

  • Certified Fraud Examiner, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2015-2020

Noteworthy Accomplishments

  • Currently serves as co-liaison counsel for motor carrier defendants in the Texas state MDL proceeding arising out of the February 11, 2021 incident on IH-35W in Fort Worth, Texas.
  • Currently serves as national counsel for occupational lung disease claims against a Fortune 500 industrial minerals company.
  • Represents a regional frac sand company in various matters, including negotiation and drafting of sand supply agreements and various contract disputes.
  • Successfully represented a Fortune 500 company in arbitration claims against the sellers of a regional logistics company. The case involved fraud, breach of contract, and other claims arising out of the sale.
  • Successfully represented a short-line railroad in a dispute with a Class 1 railroad over whether a “paper barrier” agreement was terminable at will by the short-line. The case was tried to a jury in federal court and later appealed to the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which rendered judgment for the short-line. BNSF Railway Co. v. Panhandle Northern Railroad LLC, 946 F.3d 705 (5th Cir. 2020).
  • Obtained orders compelling physical examinations of plaintiffs alleging personal injury claims arising out of an accident involving a motor carrier. Tellez-Moncada v. Taylor, 2020 WL 13430254 (W.D. Tex. Jan. 17, 2020).
  • Representation of a non-subscriber motor carrier seeking to compel arbitration of various personal injury claims arising out of workplace injuries. An example case is Garcia v. Family Dollar Stores of Texas, LLC, 2018 WL 6220135 (W.D. Tex. May 9, 2018), in which the court held that all issues of arbitrability would be determined by the arbitrator and not the court.
  • Successfully sought mandamus of a trial court order denying a motion to compel arbitration in a lawsuit brought by an investor against a start-up company. Tantrum Street, LLC v. Carson, 2017 WL 3275901 (Tex.App.-Dallas July 25, 2017, no pet.).
  • Obtained summary judgment for a motor carrier in a non-subscriber workers compensation case brought by an employee truck driver alleging personal injuries from inhalation of diesel fumes.
  • Formed and led a large team of attorneys and underwriters in evaluating thousands of claims against a private mortgage insurance company following borrower defaults in the wake of the 2008 real estate market collapse.
  • Represented a large industrial minerals company in thousands of lawsuits alleging lung disease and other injuries from silica exposure. Some of those suits were removed to federal court and consolidated in an MDL proceeding. The federal judge presiding over that MDL later found the cases in the MDL were baseless. See In re Silica Products Liability Litigation, 166 S.W.3d 3 (Tex. M.D.L. Panel 2004).