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Russell D. Jessee

Education

  • J.D. Washington and Lee University
    B.A. Virginia Tech

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia


Russell D. Jessee
Member

Russell D. Jessee
Member

Russell Jessee is a commercial litigator who focuses primarily on defending businesses in consumer credit, employment, and unfair trade practices cases. He also has significant experience in defending class actions. He is the leader of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group. Before becoming an attorney, Mr. Jessee was managing editor of The Pocahontas Times, in Marlinton, West Virginia.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

  • Sought summary judgment for purported class claims for wage and hour violations and individual claim of discriminatory discharge.
  • Sought summary judgment and negotiated settlements on behalf of businesses seeking to collect on commercial debts.
  • Moved to dismiss antitrust and unfair trade practices claims.
  • Defended West Virginia Consumer Credit & Protection Act claims against creditors
  • Defended purported class claims for wage and hour violations and individual claim of discriminatory discharge against a restaurant

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • 2005
    Steptoe & Johnson
  • 1999-2005
    Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS / AWARDS

  • Kappa Tau Alpha, National Journalism Scholarship Society, 1988
  • John W. Eure Award for Excellence in Journalism, 1988
  • Phi Beta Kappa, 1988
  • B.A. summa cum laude, 1988
  • Thomas Smith Purdie Honor Scholarship, 1996-1999
  • West Publishing Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement, 1997, 1998
  • Lead Articles Editor, Washington and Lee Law Review, 1998-1999
  • Order of the Coif, 1999
  • J.D. summa cum laude, 1999
  • Accredited Fraud Investigator, University of Charleston, 2009
  • Super Lawyers® Rising Star, 2009
  • Judge John A. Field, Jr., American Inn of Court
  • Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia

INDUSTRY / CIVIC MEMBERSHIPS

  • Director, Friends of Pocahontas County Free Libraries
  • Elder, Kanawha United Presbyterian Church
  • West Virginia Chamber of Commerce

PUBLICATIONS / SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

  • Note, "Pleading to Stay in State Court: Forum Control, Federal Removal Jurisdiction, and the Amount in Controversy Requirement," 56 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 651 (1999)
  • "Protecting the Employment Rights of Those Who Serve: A Case Law Update on USERRA," Lead Article, The Job Description, Defense Research Institute (Spring 2006)
  • "Bank Customer Privacy Rights – What Can You Do When Something Seems Wrong?" West Virginia Banker Magazine (Summer 2007)
  • Recent "Antitrust Decisions Affecting West Virginia," Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia Annual Meeting Notebook (May 2008)
  • "The Taxman Cometh: An Examination of Recent West Virginia Tax Appeal Decisions," Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia Annual Meeting Notebook (June 2009)