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Awards and Honors

 

  • Fellow, American College of Civil Trial Mediators

  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals

  • Best Lawyers in America

  • Mid-South Super Lawyers

  • Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent (5.0 out of 5.0)

  • 2018 Nashville Lawyer of the Year –Labor

  • 2020 Nashville Lawyer of the Year - Employment

  • 2023 Nashville Lawyer of the Year - Labor and Employment Litigation

  • Top 100 Lawyers in Tennessee

  • Top 50 Lawyers in Nashville

  • Chambers USA: Leading Lawyers for Business (Litigation: Mediators in Tennessee)

  • Fellow, The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers

  • Fellow, Tennessee Bar Foundation

  • Fellow, Nashville Bar Foundation

  • Former chair of the Tennessee Bar Association Labor and Employment Section

  • Former Chair of the Nashville Bar Association ADR Committee

  • Co-Founder, Howell Edmunds Jackson American Inn of Court

  • Former Member of the Board of Governors, University of Tennessee Alumni Association

Education

  • B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, University of Tennessee

  • J.D., Magna Cum Laude, University of Memphis

  • LL.M. in Dispute Resolution, University of Missouri

About Michael

 

Michael Russell is widely regarded as one of the leading employment law and class action mediators in the United States.  In addition, Michael frequently mediates complex business disputes and matters involving high profile litigants.  With a practice that is national in scope, he has successfully mediated cases from coast to coast.

Michael has a diverse legal background.  He has tried jury trials for both plaintiffs and defendants, and he has appeared in courtrooms from New York to California.  Prior to having a full-time ADR practice, Michael was a partner in a small labor and employment firm that grew to a state-wide litigation boutique.  He then became a partner in one of the oldest and largest firms in Tennessee, where he engaged in a nation-wide employment litigation practice.  He now devotes his entire practice to being a neutral. 

 

Michael graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude from the University of Tennessee. He received his law degree from the University of Memphis, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was a Humphreys Law Fellow. Michael also holds an LL.M. in Dispute Resolution from the University of Missouri. He has a distinguished teaching career, having served on the adjunct faculty at multiple universities.

Michael is a sought-after speaker and writer. He has published articles in the American Journal of Trial Advocacy, the University of Memphis Law Review, the Ohio Northern University Law Review, the Seton Hall Constitutional Law Journal, Employee Rights Quarterly, the Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal. His articles have been cited by courts, scholars, and in testimony before the United States Congress. He has lectured nationally and internationally.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys reading, travel, and spending as much time on the tennis court as he can. His travels have taken him to Cuba, Central America, Africa, the Middle East, and across much of Europe. He and his wife, Heather, live in suburban Nashville.  The Russells have two sons, Preston and Carlisle.

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