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In June 2004, Russ
opened his office as a sole practitioner in Newport Beach, California. His practice is limited to estate planning and administration
and related transfer tax matters for a small group of clients.
From 2001-2004, Russ has served as a vice president
in JPMorgan Private Bank's Wealth Advisory Group, where he advised clients about holding, managing and transferring their
wealth in a tax-efficient manner. He also consulted with the firm's investment bank in the personal planning component of
mergers, acquisitions, and public offerings involving client-owned businesses.
Before joining JPMorgan, Russ enjoyed
a 31-year career with O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he was responsible for its trusts and estates practice in Orange
County, California. His trusts and estates practice ranged from advising clients on private wealth transactions and business
planning to providing fiduciary counsel for financial institutions and individuals.
Russ served as principal counsel
in a number of litigation matters involving transfer taxes and trusts and estates matters and has appeared on behalf of clients
before both the United States and California Supreme Courts. United States v. Carlton, 512 U.S. 26 (1994); Wells Fargo Bank
v. Superior Court, 22 Cal. 4th 201 (2000).
In addition to his trusts and estates practice, Russ has significant
experience in large, complex litigation involving intra-family business disputes and public utility proceedings. He has appeared
before the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in connection with the construction
of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and a proposed merger of Southern California Edison
and San Diego Gas and Electric Companies.
Russ assisted in the formation of the National Water Research Institute,
a public-private venture organized as a California joint powers authority. He also assisted in the formation of and served
as the corporate secretary and a director of The Irvine Museum and the Joan Irvine Smith & Athalie R. Clarke Foundation
for a number of years before joining JP Morgan.
From 1971-1975, Russ served as a Captain in the United States Air
Force’s Space and Missile Systems Organization. His principal assignment was a government contract officer working with
the Minuteman and MX intercontinental ballistic missile programs and the SR-71 strategic, high-altitude reconnaisance program.
Russ has been a frequent lecturer and has authored a number of articles on trusts and estates, business planning,
charitable giving, fiduciary administration and related subjects. He has appeared at the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning,
the UCLA Estate Planning Institute, the USC Probate and Trust Law Conference, the PLI Annual Estate Planning Institute, and
various other continuing education programs for trusts and estates and tax lawyers.
Russ was born in Ottumwa, Iowa
in 1946. He graduated from Grinnell College in 1968 with a B.A. in mathematics and served as a member of its Board
of Trustees from 2000-2008 (Vice Chair from 2004-2007). He received his J.D. from the Stanford Law School in 1971, where
he was a member of the Board of Editors of the Stanford Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He served as
a member of the law school’s Board of Visitors from 1993-1996.
Russ is a member of the California Bar, a
certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law (by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization)
and a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
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